title: Unique membrane properties and enhanced signal processing in human neocortical neurons.
abstract: The advanced cognitive capabilities of the human brain are often attributed to our recently evolved neocortex. However, it is not known whether the basic building blocks of the human neocortex, the pyramidal neurons, possess unique biophysical properties that might impact on cortical computations. Here we show that layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons from human temporal cortex (HL2/3 PCs) have a specific membrane capacitance (Cm) of ~0.5 µF/cm2, half of the commonly accepted 'universal' value (~1 µF/cm2) for biological membranes. This finding was predicted by fitting in vitro voltage transients to theoretical transients then validated by direct measurement ofCmin nucleated patch experiments. Models of 3D reconstructed HL2/3 PCs demonstrated that such lowCmvalue significantly enhances both synaptic charge-transfer from dendrites to soma and spike propagation along the axon. This is the first demonstration that human cortical neurons have distinctive membrane properties, suggesting important implications for signal processing in human neocortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9537-5571
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Eyal
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Matthijs B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Verhoog
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Guilherme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Testa-Silva
authors.affiliation: Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Yair
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deitcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lodder
authors.affiliation: Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.|Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benavides-Piccione
authors.affiliation: Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Informáticos, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.affiliation: Instituto Cajal, Madrid, Spain.|Laboratorio Cajal de Circuitos Corticales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: DeFelipe
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Christiaan Pj
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: de Kock
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Centre for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Huibert D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Mansvelder
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.|Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Idan
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7279-9630
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Segev
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008867:Microtomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D008959:Models, Neurological; D019579:Neocortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology
keywords: compartmental modeling; human; human biology; human neurons; medicine; membrane properties; mouse; neurons computation; neuroscience