Voltage changes at the soma result from activation of distal synapses propagating to the soma without the aid of voltage-gated ion channels. However, as shown recently dendrites can activly support action potentials and release neurotransmitters, a property that was originally believed to be specific to axons. Dendrites were thought to convey electrical signals passively. This integration is both temporal – involving the summation of signals as well as spatial – entailing the aggregation of excitatory and inhibitory inputs from individual branches. Therefore, dendrites play a critical role in the integration of these inputs and in determining the extent of action potential generation.įurthermore, the structure and branching of dendrites together with the availability and variation in voltage-gated ion conductances strongly influences how synaptic inputs within a given microcircuit are integrated. The morphology and size of dendrites critically determines the mode of connectivity between neurons with dendritic trees ramifying in characteristic spatial domains where they receive specific synaptic inputs. They receive, integrate and process thousands of excitatory, and to a lesser extent inhibitory, synaptic inputs terminating either on the dendritic shaft or spine.

Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον déndron, “tree”) are one of the major structural elements of neurons and exhibit enormously diverse forms.

Dendrite function