Topic: cortical layer 5

Pyramidal neurons in mammalian cortical layer 5 (L5) send long-range projections to other cortical areas and subcortical structures. Understanding the outputs of the cortex thus requires understanding the activity of these neurons. Thick-tufted L5 pyramidal neurons generate two types of action potentials: 1) the classic sodium-potassium action potentials (Na-K APs) generated at the axon hillock, which propagate down the axon to trigger neurotransmitter release and backpropagate across the soma and dendritic tree, and 2) slow calcium spikes in the apical dendrite, triggered by the coincidence o