Spatio-temporal filtering properties of a dendritic cable with active spines: A modeling study in the spike-diffuse-spike framew

The spike-diffuse-spike (SDS) model describes a passive dendritic tree with active dendritic spines. Spine-head dynamics is modeled with a simple integrate-and-fire process, whilst communication between spines is mediated by the cable equation. In this paper we develop a computational framework that allows the study of multiple spiking events in a network of such spines embedded on a simple onedimensional cable. In the first instance this system is shown to support saltatory waves with the same qualitative features as those observed in a model with Hodgkin-Huxley kinetics in the spine-head. Moreover, there is excellent agreement with the analytically calculated speed for a solitary saltatory pulse. Upon driving the system with time-varying external input we find that the distribution of spines can play a crucial role in determining spatio-temporal filtering properties. In particular, the SDS model in response to periodic pulse train shows a positive correlation between spine density a...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2006
• Where: JCNS
• Authors: Yulia Timofeeva, Gabriel J. Lord, Stephen Coombes
• Keywords: Active Dendritic Spines, Dendritic Spines, JCNS 2006, Passive Dendritic Tree