Active dendritic integration as a mechanism for robust and precise grid cell firing.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how active dendrites are exploited for behaviorally relevant computations is a fundamental challenge in neuroscience. Grid cells in medial entorhinal cortex are an attractive model system for addressing this question, as the computation they perform is clear: they convert synaptic inputs into spatially modulated, periodic firing. Whether active dendrites contribute to the generation of the dual temporal and rate codes characteristic of grid cell output is unknown. We show that dendrites of medial entorhinal cortex neurons are highly excitable and exhibit a supralinear input-output function in vitro, while in vivo recordings reveal membrane potential signatures consistent with recruitment of active dendritic conductances. By incorporating these nonlinear dynamics into grid cel

SUBMITTER: Schmidt-Hieber C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6358004 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature