Dendrites: Recording from fine neuronal structures using patch-clamp and imaging techniques

Abstract

Dendrites are the principal site of synaptic input onto neurons but despite their importance in neuronal signaling, little is known about how they receive and transform this input. This is due largely to their typically submicron size, which has historically rendered them inaccessible for direct recording. However, the advent of electrophysiological patch-clamp and advanced imaging techniques over the past few decades has opened this field of research. Fuelled by Rall’s theory of active dendritic integration, intracellular recording techniques proved that dendrites do indeed have active conductances which modify synaptic input and thereby alter neuronal output in response to certain patterns..