Database of Cellular Morphologies
This database provides 3-dim reconstructions of thalamic and
neocortical neurons. These cells were reconstructed by Alain
Destexhe from 80-micron serial sections using a computerized tracing
system (Eutectic Electronics, Raleigh, NC) kindly provided by D.
Amaral (University of California, Davis, CA), as well as a
Neurolucida (Microbrightfield, Williston, VT) tracing system in
Destexhe's lab. The dendritic morphology and diameters were
reconstructed in 3-dim using a X 100 objective and correction for
tissue shrinkage was included, leading to a theoretical accuracy of
0.1 microns on dendritic diameters. The morphology and the modeling
of these cells is described in detail in the attached references
given below for each cell.
The NEURON geometry of these cells are also available. Anyone is
welcome to use these geometries in models. If you use them, we
kindly ask you to cite the original paper in which these cells were
published. The references are attached below, and copies of the
papers are available in the present site.
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Layer V Neocortical Pyramidal Neuron
Layer V pyramidal cell from cat association cortex. This cell
was stained with neurobiotin and reconstructed using a X100 objective
(Neurolucida). The physiology, morphology and modeling of that cell
are described in: Rudolph M,
Pelletier J-G, Paré D and Destexhe A. (2005) Characterization
of synaptic conductances and integrative properties during
electrically-induced EEG-activated states in neocortical neurons in
vivo. Journal of Neurophysiology 94: 2805-2821.
This cell has 4 primary dendritic branches with a total area of
22481 square-microns. The staining was not very sharp, so the
reconstruction may have missed parts of the distal dendrites. The
geometry was corrected for tissue shrinkage. Some spines were
visible in the optical microscope (X100).
Click here to download the NEURON geometry.
Click here to get a NEURON file to visualize this neuron.
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Layer V Neocortical Pyramidal Neuron
Layer V pyramidal cell from cat somatosensory cortex. This cell was
stained with neurobiotin and reconstructed using a X100 objective. The
physiology, morphology and modeling of that cell are described in: Contreras D, Destexhe A and Steriade M (1997)
Intracellular and computational characterization of the intracortical
inhibitory control of synchronized thalamic inputs in vivo. Journal of
Neurophysiology 78: 335-350.
This cell has 9 primary dendritic branches with a total dendritic length
of 22173 microns and an area of 91620 square-microns. The staining was very
sharp and the reconstruction could be made accurately for all dendrites. The
total membrane area of this cell is exceptionally large. With a density of
0.6 spines per square micron (Larkman AU, J. Comp. Neurol. 306: 332-343,
1991), this cells probably receives about 50,000 spines. Spines were indeed
visible in the optical microscope (X100).
Click here to
download the NEURON geometry.
Click
here to get a NEURON file to visualize this neuron.
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Layer VI Neocortical Pyramidal Neuron
Layer VI pyramidal cell from cat somatosensory cortex. This cell was
stained with neurobiotin and reconstructed using a X100 objective. The
physiology of that cell and the modeling are described in: Contreras D, Destexhe A and Steriade M (1997)
Intracellular and computational characterization of the intracortical
inhibitory control of synchronized thalamic inputs in vivo. Journal of
Neurophysiology 78: 335-350.
This cell has 5 primary dendritic branches with a total dendritic length
of 7576 microns and an area of 31225 square-microns. The cell was very
sharply stained and the reconstruction could be done accurately. The fact
that the apical trunk does not arborize in superficial layers did not appear
to be a consequence of the staining or reconstruction procedure. Spines were
visible in the optical microscope (X100).
Click here to
download the NEURON geometry.
Click
here to get a NEURON file to visualize this neuron.
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Thalamic Relay Neuron
Thalamocortical relay neuron from rat ventrobasal nucleus. This cell was
stained with biocytin. The neuron is described in: Huguenard JR and Prince DA
(1992) A novel T-type current underlies prolonged calcium-dependent burst
firing in GABAergic neurons of rat thalamic reticular nucleus. Journal of
Neuroscience 12: 3804-3817. The morphology, passive cable properties and
modeling of this neuron are described in:
Destexhe A, Neubig M, Ulrich D and Huguenard JR (1998) Dendritic low-threshold
calcium currents in thalamic relay cells. Journal of Neuroscience 18:
3574-3588.
This cell has 11 primary dendrites, having a total length of 7095 microns;
the total membrane area is 23980.5 square-microns, including 2625
square-microns for the soma which is about 20-25 micron diameter. The tracing
of the diameters of some distal dendrites could not be performed precisely due
to biocytin artifacts although lengths and branching patterns were accurately
reconstructed. In those cases, the diameters were artificially rescaled such
as to match the diameter profile of dendritic segments that could be
reconstructed accurately. The dendritic arborizations tend to be organized in
a bush-like structure, similar to previous morphological observations (Jones
EG, The Thalamus, Plenum Press, New York, 1985).
Click here to
download the NEURON geometry.
Click
here to get a NEURON file to visualize this neuron.
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Thalamic Reticular Neuron
Thalamic reticular cell, from the reticular sector of rat ventrobasal
nucleus. This cell was stained with biocytin. The neuron is described in:
J.R. Huguenard & D.A. Prince, A novel T-type current underlies prolonged
calcium-dependent burst firing in GABAergic neurons of rat thalamic reticular
nucleus. (1992) J. Neurosci. 12: 3804-3817. The morphology, passive cable
properties and modeling of this neuron are described in: Destexhe A, Contreras D, Steriade M, Sejnowski
TJ and Huguenard JR (1996) In vivo, in vitro and computational analysis of
dendritic calcium currents in thalamic reticular neurons. Journal of
Neuroscience 16: 169-185.
This cell has 4 primary dendrites, having a total length of 3785 microns;
the total membrane area is 15,115 square-microns, including 1760
square-microns for the soma which has a diameter of about 20-25 microns. The
dendritic arborizations tends to spread in planes parallel to the long axis of
the thalamic reticular nucleus, as described previously (Ramon y Cajal S,
Histologie du Système Nerveux de l'Homme et des
Vertébrés, Maloine, Paris, 1909). The staining was very sharp
and the reconstruction could be made accurately (X100 objective) for the
entire dendritic tree. No spines were visible in the optical microscope.
Click here to
download the NEURON geometry.
Click here
to get a NEURON file to visualize this neuron.
For more information, please contact:
Department of Integrative and Computational Neuroscience (ICN),
Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience (NeuroPSI),
CNRS, Bat 33,
1 Avenue de la Terrasse,
91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
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