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In search of a periodic table of the neurons: Axonal‐dendritic circuitry as the organizing principle
Author(s) -
Ascoli Giorgio A.,
Wheeler Diek W.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.201600067
Subject(s) - neuroscience , computer science , key (lock) , blueprint , dendritic spike , biological system , neuron , dendrite (mathematics) , artificial intelligence , biology , mathematics , mechanical engineering , excitatory postsynaptic potential , geometry , computer security , engineering , inhibitory postsynaptic potential
No one knows yet how to organize, in a simple yet predictive form, the knowledge concerning the anatomical, biophysical, and molecular properties of neurons that are accumulating in thousands of publications every year. The situation is not dissimilar to the state of Chemistry prior to Mendeleev's tabulation of the elements. We propose that the patterns of presence or absence of axons and dendrites within known anatomical parcels may serve as the key principle to define neuron types. Just as the positions of the elements in the periodic table indicate their potential to combine into molecules, axonal and dendritic distributions provide the blueprint for network connectivity. Furthermore, among the features commonly employed to describe neurons, morphology is considerably robust to experimental conditions. At the same time, this core classification scheme is suitable for aggregating biochemical, physiological, and synaptic information.