Passive electrical constants in three classes of hippocampal neurons

Abstract

Passive membrane properties of guinea pig hippocampal neurons were studied in vitro using the slice preparation. Results were reported for intracellular recordings made from neurons that were penetrated in the stratum pyramidale of hippocampal subfields CA1, CA3 and the stratum granulosum of the dentate gyrus. The passive electrical constants of hippocampal neurons apparently differ markedly from those of the more extensively studied spinal motor neurons. These differences in electrical constants are important determinants of the dynamic function of hippocampal neurons. The similar mean values of RN [input resistance] and L [electrotonic length of the dendritic cylinder] among the 3 hippocampal cell types appear to result in part from differences in Rm [membrane resistance] which compensate for size and shape differences.