scholarly journals Spatially resolved dendritic integration: towards a functional classification of neurons

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10250
Author(s):  
Christoph Kirch ◽  
Leonardo L. Gollo
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Dendritic Structure ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
Dendritic Integration ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Dendritic Spikes ◽  
And Function

The vast tree-like dendritic structure of neurons allows them to receive and integrate input from many neurons. A wide variety of neuronal morphologies exist, however, their role in dendritic integration, and how it shapes the response of the neuron, is not yet fully understood. Here, we study the evolution and interactions of dendritic spikes in excitable neurons with complex real branch structures. We focus on dozens of digitally reconstructed illustrative neurons from the online repository NeuroMorpho.org, which contains over 130,000 neurons. Yet, our methods can be promptly extended to any other neuron. This approach allows us to estimate and map specific and heterogeneous patterns of activity observed across extensive dendritic trees with thousands of compartments. We propose a classification of neurons based on the location of the soma (centrality) and the number of branches connected to the soma. These are key topological factors in determining the neuron’s energy consumption, firing rate, and the dynamic range, which quantifies the range in synaptic input rate that can be reliably encoded by the neuron’s firing rate. Moreover, we find that bifurcations, the structural building blocks of complex dendrites, play a major role in increasing the dynamic range of neurons. Our results provide a better understanding of the effects of neuronal morphology in the diversity of neuronal dynamics and function.

scholarly journals Spatially resolved dendritic integration: Towards a functional classification of neurons

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Kirch ◽  
Leonardo L Gollo
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Dendritic Structure ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Neuronal Morphology ◽  
Dendritic Integration ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Dendritic Spikes ◽  
And Function

AbstractThe vast tree-like dendritic structure of neurons allows them to receive and integrate input from many neurons. A wide variety of neuronal morphologies exist, however, their role in dendritic integration, and how it shapes the response of the neuron, is not yet fully understood. Here, we study the evolution and interactions of dendritic spikes in excitable neurons with complex real branch structures. We focus on dozens of digitally reconstructed illustrative neurons from the online repository NeuroMorpho.org, which contains over 100,000 neurons. Yet, our methods can be promptly extended to any other neuron. This approach allows us to estimate and map specific and heterogeneous patterns of activity observed across extensive dendritic trees with thousands of compartments. We propose a classification of neurons based on the location of the soma (centrality) and the number of branches connected to the soma. These are key topological factors in determining the neuron’s energy consumption, firing rate, and the dynamic range, which quantifies the range in synaptic input rate that can be reliably encoded by the neuron’s firing rate. Moreover, we find that bifurcations, the structural building blocks of complex dendrites, play a major role in increasing the dynamic range of neurons. Our results provide a better understanding of the effects of neuronal morphology in the diversity of neuronal dynamics and function.

Modeling Affordances and Functioning for Personalized Robotic Assistance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Umbrico ◽  
Gabriella Cortellessa ◽  
Andrea Orlandini ◽  
Amedeo Cesta
Keyword(s):  
Domain Knowledge ◽  
Experimental Tests ◽  
International Classification Of Functioning ◽  
Knowledge Representation And Reasoning ◽  
Health State ◽  
Knowledge Reasoning ◽  
Cognitive Assistance ◽  
Ontological Model ◽  
And Function

A key aspect of robotic assistants is their ability to contextualize their behavior according to different needs of assistive scenarios. This work presents an ontology-based knowledge representation and reasoning approach supporting the synthesis of personalized behavior of robotic assistants. It introduces an ontological model of health state and functioning of persons based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Moreover, it borrows the concepts of affordance and function from the literature of robotics and manufacturing and adapts them to robotic (physical and cognitive) assistance domain. Knowledge reasoning mechanisms are developed on top of the resulting ontological model to reason about stimulation capabilities of a robot and health state of a person in order to identify action opportunities and achieve personalized assistance. Experimental tests assess the performance of the proposed approach and its capability of dealing with different profiles and stimuli.

scholarly journals Bioelectrocatalytic hydrogels from electron-conducting metallopolypeptides coassembled with bifunctional enzymatic building blocks

2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (40) ◽  
pp. 15275-15280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian R. Wheeldon ◽  
Joshua W. Gallaway ◽  
Scott Calabrese Barton ◽  
Scott Banta
Keyword(s):  
Polyphenol Oxidase ◽  
Building Block ◽  
Leucine Zipper ◽  
Electrical Contact ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Coiled Coils ◽  
Biofuel Cell ◽  
Random Coil ◽  
Catalytic Current ◽  
And Function

Here, we present two bifunctional protein building blocks that coassemble to form a bioelectrocatalytic hydrogel that catalyzes the reduction of dioxygen to water. One building block, a metallopolypeptide based on a previously designed triblock polypeptide, is electron-conducting. A second building block is a chimera of artificial α-helical leucine zipper and random coil domains fused to a polyphenol oxidase, small laccase (SLAC). The metallopolypeptide has a helix–random-helix secondary structure and forms a hydrogel via tetrameric coiled coils. The helical and random domains are identical to those fused to the polyphenol oxidase. Electron-conducting functionality is derived from the divalent attachment of an osmium bis-bipyrdine complex to histidine residues within the peptide. Attachment of the osmium moiety is demonstrated by mass spectroscopy (MS-MALDI-TOF) and cyclic voltammetry. The structure and function of the α-helical domains are confirmed by circular dichroism spectroscopy and by rheological measurements. The metallopolypeptide shows the ability to make electrical contact to a solid-state electrode and to the redox centers of modified SLAC. Neat samples of the modified SLAC form hydrogels, indicating that the fused α-helical domain functions as a physical cross-linker. The fusion does not disrupt dimer formation, a necessity for catalytic activity. Mixtures of the two building blocks coassemble to form a continuous supramolecular hydrogel that, when polarized, generates a catalytic current in the presence of oxygen. The specific application of the system is a biofuel cell cathode, but this protein-engineering approach to advanced functional hydrogel design is general and broadly applicable to biocatalytic, biosensing, and tissue-engineering applications.

A Molecular Artisans Guide to Supramolecular Coordination Complexes and Metal Organic Frameworks

2015 ◽  
Vol 03 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 1540004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xialu Wu ◽  
David J. Young ◽  
T. S. Andy Hor
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Reactivity ◽  
Metal Organic Frameworks ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Coordination Complexes ◽  
Large Molecules ◽  
Molecular Building Blocks ◽  
Supramolecular Coordination ◽  
Metal Organic ◽  
Molecular Synthesis ◽  
And Function

As molecular synthesis advances, we are beginning to learn control of not only the chemical reactivity (and function) of molecules, but also of their interactions with other molecules. It is this basic idea that has led to the current explosion of supramolecular science and engineering. Parallel to this development, chemists have been actively pursuing the design of very large molecules using basic molecular building blocks. Herein, we review the general development of supramolecular chemistry and particularly of two new branches: supramolecular coordination complexes (SCCs) and metal organic frameworks (MOFs). These two fields are discussed in detail with typical examples to illustrate what is now possible and what challenges lie ahead for tomorrow's molecular artisans.

A Dynamic Route to Structure and Function: Recent Advances in Imine-Based Organic Nanostructured Materials

2013 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Zhan-Ting Li
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Reaction System ◽  
Functional Materials ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
The Self ◽  
Interlocked Molecules ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Imine Bond ◽  
And Function ◽  
Dynamic Route

The chemistry of imine bond formation from simple aldehyde and amine precursors is among the most powerful dynamic covalent chemistries employed for the construction of discrete molecular objects and extended molecular frameworks. The reversible nature of the C=N bond confers error-checking and proof-reading capabilities in the self-assembly process within a multi-component reaction system. This review highlights recent progress in the self-assembly of complex organic molecular architectures that are enabled by dynamic imine chemistry, including molecular containers with defined geometry and size, mechanically interlocked molecules, and extended frameworks and polymers, from building blocks with preprogrammed steric and electronic information. The functional aspects associated with the nanometer-scale features not only place these dynamically constructed nanostructures at the frontier of materials sciences, but also bring unprecedented opportunities for the discovery of new functional materials.

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