On Thu, 27 Jan 2000, Stephen Black went:
> On Thu, 27 Jan 2000, Rob Flint wrote:
>
> > Can anyone give me an example of antidromic conduction in the CNS and what
> > purpose it serves? I have a student that understands the basics, but I'm
> > having a hard time conveying its purpose.
>
> Ok, let me have a go (subject, as always, to correction by David
> Epstein):
Nope--I would only have come up with "the traditional view" (that
antidromic conduction is a crime against nature).
So I did a literature search. Rob or Stephen, if you can handle a 4MB
.pdf file, I can send you the article I found:
Pinault D.
Backpropagation of action potentials generated at ectopic axonal loci:
hypothesis that axon terminals integrate local environmental signals.
[Review] [484 refs]
Brain Research - Brain Research Reviews. 21(1):42-92, 1995 Jul.
I've only skimmed it. Pinault suggests that retrograde firing might:
1) help a neuron synchronize rhythmic firing from its inputs,
2) potentiate synapses, or 3) provide a quick way to send an error
signal backwards.
--David Epstein
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
