Spines slow down dendritic chloride diffusion and affect short-term ionic plasticity of GABAergic inhibition.

ABSTRACT: Cl(-) plays a crucial role in neuronal function and synaptic inhibition. However, the impact of neuronal morphology on the diffusion and redistribution of intracellular Cl(-) is not well understood. The role of spines in Cl(-) diffusion along dendritic trees has not been addressed so far. Because measuring fast and spatially restricted Cl(-) changes within dendrites is not yet technically possible, we used computational approaches to predict the effects of spines on Cl(-) dynamics in morphologically complex dendrites. In all morphologies tested, including dendrites imaged by super-resolution STED microscopy in live brain tissue, spines slowed down longitudinal Cl(-) diffusion along dendrites. This effect was robust and could be observed in both deterministic as well as stochastic simulatio

SUBMITTER: Mohapatra N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4796789 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature