Nature. 1996 Jul 25;382(6589):363-6.
Influence of dendritic structure on firing pattern in model 
neocortical neurons.
Mainen ZF, Sejnowski TJ.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Computational Neurobiology 
Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La 
Jolla, California 92037, USA.

Neocortical neurons display a wide range of dendritic 
morphologies, ranging from compact arborizations to highly 
elaborate branching patterns. In vitro electrical 
recordings from these neurons have revealed a 
correspondingly diverse range of intrinsic firing patterns, 
including non-adapting, adapting and bursting types. This 
heterogeneity of electrical responsivity has generally been 
attributed to variability in the types and densities of 
ionic channels. We show here, using compartmental models of 
reconstructed cortical neurons, that an entire spectrum of 
firing patterns can be reproduced in a set of neurons that 
share a common distribution of ion channels and differ only 
in their dendritic geometry. The essential behaviour of the 
model depends on partial electrical coupling of fast active 
conductances localized to the soma and axon and slow active 
currents located throughout the dendrites, and can be 
reproduced in a two-compartment model. The results suggest 
a causal relationship for the observed correlations between 
dendritic structure and firing properties and emphasize the 
importance of active dendritic conductances in neuronal 
function.
