Dendritic action potentials of pyramidal neurons of the sensomotor cortex of the cerebral cortex of the cat

The intracellular activity of pyramidal tract neurons during electrical stimulation of ventro-lateral and ventro-postero-lateral nuclei of thalamus was studied in acute experiments on cats immobilized by myorelaxants. Both somatic and presumably dendritic spikes (d-spikes) were observed. The latter were characterized by relatively low and variable (5-60 mV) amplitude; d-spikes occurred both spontaneously and in response to single shock and tetanic (8-14/s) stimulation of the thalamus. They were also induced by intracellular depolarizing current pulses and thalamic stimulation following iontophoretic application of strychnine. Simultaneously generated somatic and d-spikes revealed no collision between each other. Intracellular hyperpolarizing current pulses abolished only somatic spikes, while d-spikes were not affected. Dendritic origin with multiple generation zones of these variable spikes is suggested. Possible functional role of d-spike is discussed.