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The Computing Dendrite pp 295–310Cite as

Biophysics of Synaptic Inhibition in Dendrites

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Part of the book series: Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience ((NEUROSCI,volume 11))

Abstract

This chapter aims at investigating the functional implications of the biologically realistic and widespread case in which a single inhibitory axon forms multiple (10–20) synaptic contacts on the dendrites of its target neuron. We analyzed the impact of multi-site dendritic inhibition on the neurons’ output and, thus, gained several counterintuitive insights into the biophysical and functional implications of such connectivity pattern. In the course of the chapter, we propose a functional role for very distal dendritic inhibition; demonstrate the regional effect of multiple, rather than single, inhibitory synapses in terms of the spread of their collective shunting effect in the dendritic tree; and suggest an explanation as to why, in both cortex and hippocampus, the total number of inhibitory dendritic synapses per pyramidal cell is smaller (about 20 %) than that of excitatory synapses. This chapter, thus, provides a fresh perspective on the biophysical design principles that govern the operation of inhibition in dendrites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel

    Albert Gidon

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  1. Albert Gidon
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Correspondence to Albert Gidon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Clinical Neuroanatomy, Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society & Goethe-University, Frankfurt, Germany

    Hermann Cuntz

  2. Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Michiel W.H. Remme

  3. Department of Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Benjamin Torben-Nielsen

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Gidon, A. (2014). Biophysics of Synaptic Inhibition in Dendrites. In: Cuntz, H., Remme, M., Torben-Nielsen, B. (eds) The Computing Dendrite. Springer Series in Computational Neuroscience, vol 11. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8094-5_18

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