Neurophysiology

, Volume 30, Issue 4–5, pp 305–309 | Cite as

Electrical properties and morphology of motoneurons developing in dissociated unpurified co-culture of the embryonic rat brainstem, spinal cord, and hindlimb tissues

  • A. I. Ivanov
  • T. Launey
  • J. -P. Guéritaud
  • S. M. Korogod
Poster Communications

Abstract

Experimental measurements of the input resistance were performed using a whole-cell patch-clamp recording technique of presumed motoneurons in unpurified co-culture of the dissociated prenatal rat brainstem, spinal cord, and hindlimb muscle tissues at different terms of thein vitro development. The recorded neurons were then labelled with Neurobiotin. Morphology of 21 completely stained cells was reconstructed and quantified in 3-D space. To estimate the size of the neurons, their total membrane areas and terminal tip numbers were computed. Computer models based on the reconstructed forms were used to evaluate the impact of cell morphology on the input resistance of motoneurons. The membrane resistivity was assumed as passive, uniform, and constant (12,000 Ω·cm2) at all ages studied. We found that changes in the measured input resistance paralleled those in dendritic morphology at all stages of the development, and that computed values correlated well with measured data. Therefore, we conclude that changes in geometry of the neuron may themselves account for evolution of its input resistance during development.

Keywords

Input Resistance Cell Geometry Cell Body Size Axon Conduction Velocity Passive Electrical Property 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers 1999

Authors and Affiliations

  • A. I. Ivanov
    • 1
  • T. Launey
    • 2
  • J. -P. Guéritaud
    • 2
  • S. M. Korogod
    • 1
  1. 1.Dnepropetrovsk State UniversityUkraine
  2. 2.Unité de Neurocybernétique CellulaireCentre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueMarseilleFrance

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