title: Exploring the significance of morphological diversity for cerebellar granule cell excitability.
abstract: The relatively simple and compact morphology of cerebellar granule cells (CGCs) has led to the view that heterogeneity in CGC shape has negligible impact upon the integration of mossy fibre (MF) information. Following electrophysiological recording, 3D models were constructed from high-resolution imaging data to identify morphological features that could influence the coding of MF input patterns by adult CGCs. Quantification of MF and CGC morphology provided evidence that CGCs could be connected to the multiple rosettes that arise from a single MF input. Predictions from our computational models propose that MF inputs could be more densely encoded within the CGC layer than previous models suggest. Moreover, those MF signals arriving onto the dendrite closest to the axon will generate greater CGC excitation. However, the impact of this morphological variability on MF input selectivity will be attenuated by high levels of CGC inhibition providing further flexibility to the MF → CGC pathway. These features could be particularly important when considering the integration of multimodal MF sensory input by individual CGCs.
authors.affiliation: Departent of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Catriona M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Houston
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience, Physiology &Pharmacology, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Efthymia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diamanti
authors.affiliation: Werner-Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Diamantaki
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery McGill University, Montréal, Canada.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kutsarova
authors.affiliation: Departent of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.affiliation: Department Cognitive Neurology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Germany.|Department Integrative medical biology, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fahad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sultan
authors.affiliation: Departent of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, UK.|Centre for Neurotechnology, Imperial College London, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Brickley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D048429:Cell Size; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology*; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000378:metabolism*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000378:metabolism; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008959:Models, Neurological; D019599:Mossy Fibers, Hippocampal / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors