Dendritic shaft constrictions shape synaptic integration in neurons
For nearly 150 years, textbooks have described dendritic morphology as optimized for efficient synaptic voltage transfer from spines to the soma, implemented as a tubular design respecting Rall's 3/2 rule for impedance matching at branch points. Here, we reveal that this view is an oversimplification. Using multiple high-resolution imaging techniques, we demonstrate that dendrites in cortical and hippocampal neurons exhibit nanoscale constrictions, termed dendritic shaft constrictions (DSCs), with diameters ranging from ∼100 to 500 nanometers in mice. We also identified DSCs in human hippocampal and cortical neurons. We provide theoretical and experimental lines of evidence that these constrictions effectively partition the dendrite into distinct electrical compartments, shaping dendritic integration of synaptic potentials.
Authors
- Henner Koch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6883-3071)
- Juan Eduardo Rodriguez-Gatica (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4123-0104)
- T. Kelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6066-0455)
- Ulrich Kubitscheck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3750-5355)
- Tatjana Tchumatchenko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9137-809X)
- Michael Döngi
- Philipp Bethge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4022-0844)
- Steve C. Danzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4405-2999)
- Carlos Wert-Carvajal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5340-8275)
- U. Valentin Nägerl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6831-9008)
- Jens F. Tillmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3030-1571)
- Sebastián Dupraz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4557-2611)
- Netanel Ofer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7244-2348)
- Michel K. Herde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2324-2083)
- Heinz Beck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8961-998X)
- Christin M. Godale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1738-6742)
- Valentin Stein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1222-4928)
- Frank Bradke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0345-3772)
- Sarah Yaser
- S Peter
- Martin K. Schwarz
- Michela Barboni
- Niclas Cissewski
Institutions
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Bonn (DE)
- Université de Bordeaux (FR)
- University of Zurich (CH)
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DE)
- Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (DE)
- Institut Interdisciplinaire de Neuroscience (FR)
- Ariel University (IL)
- University of Cincinnati (US)
- University of Otago (NZ)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-09-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aec4911
- Primary Topic
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Joachim Herz Stiftung
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke