Enhanced Dendritic Compartmentalization in Human Cortical Neurons.
Lou Beaulieu-Laroche, Enrique H S Toloza, Marie-Sophie van der Goes, Mathieu Lafourcade, Derrick Barnagian, Ziv M Williams, Emad N Eskandar, Matthew P Frosch, Sydney S Cash, Mark T Harnett
Author Information
Lou Beaulieu-Laroche: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Enrique H S Toloza: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Marie-Sophie van der Goes: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Mathieu Lafourcade: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Derrick Barnagian: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Ziv M Williams: Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Emad N Eskandar: Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Matthew P Frosch: C.S. Kubik Laboratory for Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Sydney S Cash: Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: scash@mgh.harvard.edu.
Mark T Harnett: McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: harnett@mit.edu.
The biophysical features of neurons shape information processing in the brain. Cortical neurons are larger in humans than in other species, but it is unclear how their size affects synaptic integration. Here, we perform direct electrical recordings from human dendrites and report enhanced electrical compartmentalization in layer 5 pyramidal neurons. Compared to rat dendrites, distal human dendrites provide limited excitation to the soma, even in the presence of dendritic spikes. Human somas also exhibit less bursting due to reduced recruitment of dendritic electrogenesis. Finally, we find that decreased ion channel densities result in higher input resistance and underlie the lower coupling of human dendrites. We conclude that the increased length of human neurons alters their input-output properties, which will impact cortical computation. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
