Dendritic integration of excitatory synaptic input

A fundamental function of nerve cells is the transformation of incoming syn aptic information into specific patterns of action potential output. An imp ortant component of this transformation is synaptic integration - the combi nation of voltage deflections produced by a myriad of synaptic inputs into a singular change in membrane potential. There are three basic elements inv olved in integration: the amplitude of the unitary postsynaptic potential, the manner in which non-simultaneous unitary events add in time (temporal s ummation), and the addition of unitary events occurring simultaneously in s eparate regions of the dendritic arbor (spatial summation). This review dis cusses how passive and active dendritic properties, and the functional char acteristics of the synapse, shape these three elements of synaptic integrat ion.