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Distant synapses raise their voices

By showing that synaptic strength increases as a function of distance from the soma, Magee and Cook have solved the long-standing puzzle of how synapses on distal dendrites can influence action potential initiation.

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Figure 1: Conductance scaling equalizes the strength of EPSPs arising on distal dendrites.
Figure 2: Distance-dependent variability of temporal summation is limited by a high density of hyperpolarization-activated channels in dendrites.

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Spruston, N. Distant synapses raise their voices. Nat Neurosci 3, 849–851 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/78734

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