Influence of dendritic conductances on the input-output properties of neurons

A fundamental problem in neuroscience is understanding how a neuron transdu ces synaptic input into action potentials. The dendrites form the substrate for consolidating thousands of synaptic inputs and are the first stage for signal processing in the neuron. Traditionally, dendrites are viewed as pa ssive structures whose main function is to funnel synaptic input into the s oma. However, dendrites contain a wide variety of voltage- and time-depende nt ion channels. When activated, the currents through these channels can al ter the amplitude and time course of the synaptic input and under certain c onditions even evoke all-or-none regenerative potentials. The synaptic inpu t that ultimately reaches the soma is likely to be a highly transformed ver sion of the original signal. Thus, a key step in understanding the relation ship between synaptic input and neuronal firing is to elucidate the signal processing that occurs in the dendrites.