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POTASSIUM CHANNELS AND DENDRITIC FUNCTIONIN HIPPOCAMPAL PYRAMIDAL NEURONS
     
Dax A. Hoffman, Ph.D.,* Head, Molecular Neurophysiology and Biophysics Unit
Jinny Kim, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
Dax Hoffman
 
A nonuniform density of subthreshold, rapidly inactivating potassium channels regulates signal propagation in the dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus. This nonuniform density (with higher expression in the dendrites than in the soma) means that the electrical properties of the dendrites are markedly different from those of the soma. Incoming synaptic signals are shaped by the activity of these channels, and action potentials, once initiated in the axon, progressively decrease in amplitude as they propagate back into the dendrites. By combining patch clamp recording in brain slices of hippocampus with molecular biology techniques, the Molecular Neurophysiology and Biophysics Unit investigates the electrophysiological properties and molecular nature of the voltage-gated channels expressed in CA1 dendrite, how their expression is regulated, and their role in synaptic integration.

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PUBLICATIONS

  1. Hoffman DA, Sprengel R, Sakmann B. Molecular dissection of hippocampal theta-burst pairing potentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2002;99:7740-7745.
  2. Johnston D, Hoffman DA, Magee JC, Poolos NP, Watanabe S, Colbert CM, Migliore M. Dendritic potassium channels in hippocampal pyramidal neurons. J Physiol. 2000;525 Pt 1:75-81.
  3. Watanabe S, Hoffman DA, Migliore M, Johnston D. Dendritic K+ channels contribute to spike-timing dependent long-term potentiation in hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2002;99:8366-8371.


*Joined NICHD in June 2002