| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
Biophysical Journal 61: 756-766 (1992)
© 1992 the Biophysical Society
Department of Physiology, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison 53706.
ABSTRACT
A theoretical analysis was undertaken of a Rall motoneuron under voltage clamp with a finite access resistance. This model is relevant to the conditions of the whole-cell patch clamp, which to date has been used very little for cable analysis. It was shown that the soma and cable charging currents can be distinguished, and that the soma is charged with a time constant approximately equal to the access resistance times the somatic capacitance. Thus, the charging time of the soma is similar to what it would be if the cell had no process. Simple formulas were derived that can be used to calculate the electrotonic length, the membrane time constant, and the soma-dendrite resistance ratio of a cell with a cylindrical process. With the aid of these formulas, reasonable estimates of parameter values were recovered from simulated transient currents. Tests of the Rall model were proposed to determine when there is an equivalent cylinder that is consistent with observed charging behavior. The analysis was extended to a cable with an open end and to a model in which the soma and dendrite have different membrane time constants. It was shown that with voltage-clamp data estimates of electrical parameters other than rho are relatively insensitive to differences between the membrane properties of the soma and dendrite. The methods of cable analysis introduced here were illustrated by application to charging transients recorded from a hippocampal pyramidal cell and from a neurohypophysial nerve ending. The Rall model provided a good description of the pyramidal cell current transient but was inconsistent with the charging behavior observed for the nerve ending. With the recent technical advance of patch clamp recording in brain slices, the analysis presented here should help neurophysiologists investigate cable properties in a wide variety of systems.
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  K. F. Webb and P. J. Donaldson Differentiation-dependent changes in the membrane properties of fiber cells isolated from the rat lens Am J Physiol Cell Physiol, May 1, 2008; 294(5): C1133 - C1145. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M.-C. Perreault and M. Raastad Contribution of morphology and membrane resistance to integration of fast synaptic signals in two thalamic cell types J. Physiol., November 15, 2006; 577(1): 205 - 220. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. A. Prinz and P. Fromherz Effect of Neuritic Cables on Conductance Estimates for Remote Electrical Synapses J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2003; 89(4): 2215 - 2224. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Matsui, J. Hasegawa, and M. Tachibana Modulation of Excitatory Synaptic Transmission by GABAC Receptor-Mediated Feedback in the Mouse Inner Retina J Neurophysiol, November 1, 2001; 86(5): 2285 - 2298. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. A. Baines, J. P. Uhler, A. Thompson, S. T. Sweeney, and M. Bate Altered Electrical Properties in Drosophila Neurons Developing without Synaptic Transmission J. Neurosci., March 1, 2001; 21(5): 1523 - 1531. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. P. Wong, G. Marchese, M. A. Casu, A. Ribeiro-da-Silva, A. C. Cuello, and Y. De Koninck Loss of Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Structures Is Accompanied by Compensatory Increase in Action Potential-Dependent Synaptic Input to Layer V Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons in Aged Rats J. Neurosci., November 15, 2000; 20(22): 8596 - 8606. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. I. Banks and R. A. Pearce Kinetic Differences between Synaptic and Extrasynaptic GABAA Receptors in CA1 Pyramidal Cells J. Neurosci., February 1, 2000; 20(3): 937 - 948. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. E. Moore, N. Chub, J. Tabak, and M. O'Donovan NMDA-Induced Dendritic Oscillations during a Soma Voltage Clamp of Chick Spinal Neurons J. Neurosci., October 1, 1999; 19(19): 8271 - 8280. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
N. Chery and Y. De Koninck Junctional versus Extrajunctional Glycine and GABAA Receptor-Mediated IPSCs in Identified Lamina I Neurons of the Adult Rat Spinal Cord J. Neurosci., September 1, 1999; 19(17): 7342 - 7355. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Gamkrelidze, C. Giaume, and K. D. Peusner The Differential Expression of Low-Threshold Sustained Potassium Current Contributes to the Distinct Firing Patterns in Embryonic Central Vestibular Neurons J. Neurosci., February 15, 1998; 18(4): 1449 - 1464. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Martinez-Padron and A. Ferrus Presynaptic Recordings from Drosophila: Correlatin of Macroscopic and Single-Channel K+ Currents J. Neurosci., May 15, 1997; 17(10): 3412 - 3424. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Huang, D. F. Bossut, and G. G. Somjen Enhancement of Whole Cell Synaptic Currents by Low Osmolarity and by Low [NaCl] in Rat Hippocampal Slices J Neurophysiol, May 1, 1997; 77(5): 2349 - 2359. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Svirskis, A. Gutman, and J. Hounsgaard Detection of a Membrane Shunt by DC Field Polarization During Intracellular and Whole Cell Recording J Neurophysiol, February 1, 1997; 77(2): 579 - 586. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Sah and J. M. Bekkers Apical Dendritic Location of Slow Afterhyperpolarization Current in Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons: Implications for the Integration of Long-Term Potentiation J. Neurosci., August 1, 1996; 16(15): 4537 - 4542. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. I. Banks, L. B. Haberly, and M. B. Jackson Layer-Specific Properties of the Transient K Current (IA) in Piriform Cortex J. Neurosci., June 15, 1996; 16(12): 3862 - 3876. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
