Role of gap junctions in local rhythmogenesis in cortical columns.

Complex morphofunctional studies of the barrel cortex of the rat identified and analyzed the ultrastructural characteristics of the dendrodendritic electrical synapses--gap junctions (GJ)--of stellate neurons of barrels D2-D3. The local nature of dendrite branching of barrel cells, limited to the volume of the barrel, suggests that these GJ, which account for 7% of all synapses, may be the structural basis of local intrabarrel electrotonic synchronization of pacemaker potentials of barrel neuron hyperpolarization on development of spindle-type activity in the corresponding column.