Study finds a difference between neurons of humans and other mammals

Re:Study finds a difference between neurons of humans and ot... by dr_dshiv on Sunday November 14, 2021 @07:13AM (#29216777)

I heard in a lecture that populations of human neurons are able to phase-lock or resonate to an oscillating stimulus that exceeds 1000s of Hz while mouse neurons top out around 200 Hz. I haven’t been able to find citations for this. Hypothetically, the increase in temporal sensitivity might be related to the lower density of ion channels. Would a lower density of ion channels increase the capacitance of neurons?

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Re:Study finds a difference between neurons of humans and ot... by disco_nap on Sunday November 14, 2021 @09:59AM (#29217517)

The majority of a neuron's transmembrane capacitance is attributed to the lipid membrane itself, so a lower density of ion channels should not appreciably alter capacitance.

Action potential rates and the ability to phase-lock to inputs are significantly affected by the membrane time constant. Generally, membranes with lower conductances at rest and during spiking will have higher (slower) membrane time constants. This isn't a straightforward explanation for the ability of human some neurons to phase lock to higher frequencies.

Impedance data across species relevant to this idea is in Extended Data Figure 2 and 5 of the paper.

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Re:Study finds a difference between neurons of humans and ot... by netizen-936824 on Sunday November 14, 2021 @08:39AM (#29217103)

I would think capacitance increases only if the number of leak channels change.

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