title: Locally synchronized synaptic inputs.
abstract: Synaptic inputs on dendrites are nonlinearly converted to action potential outputs, yet the spatiotemporal patterns of dendritic activation remain to be elucidated at single-synapse resolution. In rodents, we optically imaged synaptic activities from hundreds of dendritic spines in hippocampal and neocortical pyramidal neurons ex vivo and in vivo. Adjacent spines were frequently synchronized in spontaneously active networks, thereby forming dendritic foci that received locally convergent inputs from presynaptic cell assemblies. This precise subcellular geometry manifested itself during N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-dependent circuit remodeling. Thus, clustered synaptic plasticity is innately programmed to compartmentalize correlated inputs along dendrites and may reify nonlinear synaptic integration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemical Pharmacology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mayford
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kano
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Matsuki
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ikegaya
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D056654:CA3 Region, Hippocampal / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D002118:Calcium