Abstract
Cerebellar Purkinje cell responses to granule cell synaptic inputs were examined with a computer model including active dendritic conductances. Dendritic P-type Ca2+ channels amplified postsynaptic responses when the model was firing at a physiological rate. Small synchronous excitatory inputs applied distally on the large dendritic tree resulted in somatic responses of similar size to those generated by more proximal inputs. In contrast, in a passive model the somatic postsynaptic potentials to distal inputs were 76% smaller. The model predicts that the somatic firing response of Purkinje cells is relatively insensitive to the exact dendritic location of synaptic inputs. We describe a mechanism of Ca2+-mediated synaptic amplification, based on the subspiking threshold recruitment of P-type Ca2+ channels in the dendritic branches surrounding the input site.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 4736-4740 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 91 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 24 1994 |
Keywords
- amplification
- calcium channel
- cerebellum
- model
- parallel fiber
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General