The characterization of the structural design of cortical microcircuits is essential for understanding how they contribute to function in both health and disease. Since pyramidal neurons represent the most abundant neuronal type and their dendritic spines constitute the major postsynaptic elements of cortical excitatory synapses, our understanding of the synaptic organization of the neocortex l...

In order to determine whether pyramidal cells of the adult hippocampus are morphologically sensitive to thyroid hormone, we performed single-section Golgi impregnation analyses on brains from hyperthyroid and control rats. Quantitative analyses of Golgi-impregnated pyramidal cells from the CA1 region showed a significant decrease in the density of apical dendritic spines with hyperthyroidism. I...

Experimental mouse chimeras have proven useful in analyzing the cell lineages of various tissues. Here we use experimental mouse chimeras to study cell lineage of the hippocampus. We examined clonal architecture and lineage relationships of the hippocampal pyramidal cells, dentate granule cells, and GABAergic interneurons. We quantitatively analyzed like-genotype cohorts of these neuronal popul...

Stochastic resonance (SR) in a hippocampal network model was investigated. The hippocampal model consists of two layers, CA3 and CA1. Pyramidal cells in CA3 are connected to pyramidal cells in CA1 through Schaffer collateral synapses. The CA3 network causes spontaneous irregular activity (broadband spectrum peaking at around 3 Hz), while the CA1 network does not. The activity of CA3 causes memb...

The activity of supragranular pyramidal neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) neurons is hypothesized to be a key contributor to the cellular basis of working memory in primates. Therefore, the intrinsic membrane properties, a crucial determinant of a neuron's functional properties, are important for the role of DLPFC pyramidal neurons in working memory. The present study aimed ...

There are substantial differences across species in the organization and function of the motor pathways. These differences extend to basic electrophysiological properties. Thus, in rat motor cortex, pyramidal cells have long duration action potentials, while in the macaque, some pyramidal neurons exhibit short duration "thin" spikes. These differences may be related to the expression of the fas...

Previous computational modeling studies suggested a set of rules underlying the modulation of principal cell firing rates by heterogeneity in the synaptic parameters (peak amplitude and decay kinetics) of populations of GABAergic inputs. Here we performed dynamic clamp experiments in CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cells to test these ideas in biological neurons. In agreement with the simulation stud...

Cortical circuits consist of two major types of neurons: the excitatory pyramidal cells and the inhibitory interneurons. While pyramidal cells mostly do not differ from each other in their morphological and physiological features, interneurons show diversity of great extent. The different interneuron populations can be described with distinct morphology and in accordance with this with distinct...

16 The activity of supragranular pyramidal neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) 17 neurons is hypothesized to be a key contributor to the cellular basis of working memory in primates. 18 Therefore, the intrinsic membrane properties, a crucial determinant of a neuron's functional properties, are 19 important for the role of DLPFC pyramidal neurons in working memory. The present ...