McLean lab publishes paper challenging textbook knowledge linking neuron size to function
November 8, 2022
In the paper, "Mixed synapses reconcile violations of the size principle in zebrafish spinal cord" by Menelaou, Kishore and McLean published in eLife, the authors challenge the conventional view that neuron size universally explains recruitment order and excitability, something known as the 'size principle'. Instead, the work suggests that synaptic inputs that use glutamate and gap junctions (mixed synapses) also impact electrophysiological interpretations of excitability. Ultimately, the size-independent contribution of mixed synaptic inputs to neuronal excitability provides a more inclusive biophysical explanation for paradoxical deviations from the size principle.