Pyramidal cell

Growth and development

Differentiation

Pyramidal specification occurs during early development of the cerebrum. Progenitor cells are committed to the neuronal lineage in the subcortical proliferative ventricular zone (VZ) and the subventricular zone (SVZ). Immature pyramidal cells undergo migration to occupy the cortical plate, where they further diversify. Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are one class of molecules that have been shown to direct pyramidal cell development and axonal pathfinding. Transcription factors such as Ctip2 and Sox5 have been shown to contribute to the direction in which pyramidal neurons direct their axons.

Early postnatal development

Pyramidal cells in rats have been shown to undergo many rapid changes during early postnatal life. Between postnatal days 3 and 21, pyramidal cells have been shown to double the size of the soma, increase the length of the apical dendrite fivefold, and increase basal dendrite length thirteen-fold. Other changes include the lowering of the membrane's resting potential, reduction of membrane resistance, and an increase in the peak values of action potentials.

Signaling

Like dendrites in most other neurons, the dendrites are generally the input areas of the neuron, while the axon is the neuron's output. Both axons and dendrites are highly branched. The large amount of branching allows the neuron to send and receive signals to and from many different neurons.

Pyramidal neurons, like other neurons, have numerous voltage-gated ion channels. In pyramidal cells, there is an abundance of Na⁺, Ca²⁺, and K⁺ channels in the dendrites, and some channels in the soma. Ion channels within pyramidal cell dendrites have different properties from the same ion channel type within the pyramidal cell soma. Voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels in pyramidal cell dendrites are activated by subthreshold EPSPs and by back-propagating action potentials. The extent of back-propagation of action potentials within pyramidal dendrites depends upon the K⁺ channels. K⁺ channels in pyramidal cell dendrites provide a mechanism for controlling the amplitude of action potentials.

The ability of pyramidal neurons to integrate information depends on the number and distribution of the synaptic inputs they receive. A single pyramidal cell receives about 30,000 excitatory inputs and 1700 inhibitory (IPSPs) inputs. Excitatory (EPSPs) inputs terminate exclusively on the dendritic spines, while inhibitory (IPSPs) inputs terminate on dendritic shafts, the soma, and even the axon. Pyramidal neurons can be excited by the neurotransmitter glutamate, and inhibited by the neurotransmitter GABA.

Firing classifications

Pyramidal neurons have been classified into different subclasses based upon their firing responses to 400-1000 millisecond current pulses. These classification are RSad, RSna, and IB neurons.

RSad

RSad pyramidal neurons, or adapting regular spiking neurons, fire with individual action potentials (APs), which are followed by a hyperpolarizing afterpotential. The afterpotential increases in duration which creates spike frequency adaptation (SFA) in the neuron.

RSna

RSna pyramidal neurons, or non-adapting regular spiking neurons, fire a train of action potentials after a pulse. These neurons show no signs of adaptation.

IB

IB pyramidal neurons, or intrinsically bursting neurons, respond to threshold pulses with a burst of two to five rapid action potentials. IB pyramidal neurons show no adaptation.

Molecular classifications

There are several studies showing that morphological and electric pyramidal cells properties could be deduced from gene expression measured by single-cell sequencing. Several studies are proposing that single-cell classifications in mouse and human neurons based on gene expression could explain various neuronal properties . Neuronal types in these classifications are split into excitatory, inhibitory and hundreds of corresponding sub-types. For example, pyramidal cells of layer 2-3 in human are classified as FREM3 type and often have a high amount of Ih-current generated by HCN-channel.

Function

Corticospinal tract

Pyramidal neurons are the primary neural cell type in the corticospinal tract. Normal motor control depends on the development of connections between the axons in the corticospinal tract and the spinal cord. Pyramidal cell axons follow cues such as growth factors to make specific connections. With proper connections, pyramidal cells take part in the circuitry responsible for vision guided motor function.

Cognition

Pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex are implicated in cognitive ability. In mammals, the complexity of pyramidal cells increases from posterior to anterior brain regions. The degree of complexity of pyramidal neurons is likely linked to the cognitive capabilities of different anthropoid species. Pyramidal cells within the prefrontal cortex appear to be responsible for processing input from the primary auditory cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and primary visual cortex, all of which process sensory modalities. These cells might also play a critical role in complex object recognition within the visual processing areas of the cortex. Relative to other species, the larger cell size and complexity of pyramidal neurons, along with certain patterns of cellular organization and function, correlates with the evolution of human cognition.

Memory and learning

The hippocampus's pyramidal cells are essential for certain types of memory and learning. They form synapses that aid in the integration of synaptic voltages throughout their complex dendritic trees through interactions with mossy fibers from granule cells. Since it affects the postsynaptic voltages produced by mossy fiber activation, the placement of thorny excrescences on basal and apical dendrites is important for memory formation. By enabling dynamic control of the sensitivity of CA3 pyramidal cells, this clustering of mossy fiber synapses on pyramidal cells may facilitate the initiation of somatic spikes.

The interactions between pyramidal cells and an estimated 41 mossy fiber boutons, each originating from a unique granule cell, highlight the role of these boutons in information processing and synaptic connectivity, which are essential for memory and learning. Fundamentally, mossy fiber input is received by pyramidal cells in the hippocampus which integrate synaptic voltages within their dendritic architecture. The location of prickly protrusions and the clustering of synapses influence sensitivity and contribute to the processing of information pertaining to memory and learning.