ArticlePLoS computational biology2013
Sharpness of spike initiation in neurons explained by compartmentalization.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed.
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- Axon initial segment structure and function in health and disease.Physiological reviews · 2025Review
- Theory of axo-axonic inhibition.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
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- The impact of dynamic reversal potential on the evolution of action potential attributes during spike trains.Frontiers in computational neuroscience · 2025Article
- Dynamic Gain Decomposition Reveals Functional Effects of Dendrites, Ion Channels, and Input Statistics in Population Coding.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2024Article
- Impact on backpropagation of the spatial heterogeneity of sodium channel kinetics in the axon initial segment.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Simulations of cortical networks using spatially extended conductance-based neuronal models.The Journal of physiology · 2023Review
- Structure and dynamics that specialize neurons for high-frequency coincidence detection in the barn owl nucleus laminaris.Biological cybernetics · 2023Article
- Cell anatomy and network input explain differences within but not between leech touch cells at two different locations.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2023Article
- Morphological Determinants of Cell-to-Cell Variations in Action Potential Dynamics in Substantia Nigra Dopaminergic Neurons.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2022Article
- Alterations of the axon initial segment in multiple sclerosis grey matter.Brain communications · 2022Article
- Ultrafast population coding and axo-somatic compartmentalization.PLoS computational biology · 2022Article
- Neural excitability increases with axonal resistance between soma and axon initial segment.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- New methods for quantifying rapidity of action potential onset differentiate neuron types.PloS one · 2021Article
- The location of the axon initial segment affects the bandwidth of spike initiation dynamics.PLoS computational biology · 2020Article
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1 author.
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Abstract
In cortical neurons, spikes are initiated in the axon initial segment. Seen at the soma, they appear surprisingly sharp. A standard explanation is that the current coming from the axon becomes sharp as the spike is actively backpropagated to the soma. However, sharp initiation of spikes is also seen in the input-output properties of neurons, and not only in the somatic shape of spikes; for example, cortical neurons can transmit high frequency signals. An alternative hypothesis is that Na channels cooperate, but it is not currently supported by direct experimental evidence. I propose a simple explanation based on the compartmentalization of spike initiation. When Na channels are placed in the axon, the soma acts as a current sink for the Na current. I show that there is a critical distance to the soma above which an instability occurs, so that Na channels open abruptly rather than gradually as a function of somatic voltage.
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