Altered dendritic complexity affects firing properties of cortical layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in mice lacking the 5-HT3A receptor.

We have previously shown that the serotonergic input on Cajal-Retzius cells, mediated by 5-HT3 receptors, plays an important role in the early postnatal maturation of the apical dendritic trees of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons. We reported that knockout mice lacking the 5-HT3A receptor showed exuberant apical dendrites of these cortical pyramidal neurons. Because model studies have shown the role of dendritic morphology on neuronal firing pattern, we used the 5-HT3A knockout mouse to explore the impact of dendritic hypercomplexity on the electrophysiological properties of this specific class of neurons. Our experimental results show that hypercomplexity of the apical dendritic tuft of layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons affects neuronal excitability by reducing the amount of spike frequency adaptation. This difference in firing pattern, related to a higher dendritic complexity, was accompanied by an altered development of the afterhyperpolarization slope with successive action potentials. Our abstract and realistic...