AUTHOR=Waters Jack , Hedrick Tristan 

TITLE=Effect of temperature on spiking patterns of neocortical layer 2/3 and layer 6 pyramidal neurons

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neural Circuits

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2012

YEAR=2012

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neural-circuits/articles/10.3389/fncir.2012.00028

DOI=10.3389/fncir.2012.00028

ISSN=1662-5110

ABSTRACT=The spiking patterns of neocortical pyramidal neurons are shaped by the conductances in their apical dendrites. We have previously shown that the spiking patterns of layer 5 pyramidal neurons change with temperature, probably because temperature modulates the electrical coupling between somatic and dendritic compartments. Here we examine the effect of temperature on the spiking patterns of layer 2/3 and layer 6 pyramidal neurons in acute slices of mouse primary motor cortex. In both cell types, decreasing temperature led to more irregular spiking patterns. Our results indicate that a decrease in spiking regularity with decreasing temperature, probably mediated by increased electrical coupling between soma and dendrites, is common to all pyramidal neurons in motor cortex.