Editing Neuron (section)

===Compartmental modelling of neurons===
Although neurons are often described as "fundamental units" of the brain, they perform internal computations. Neurons integrate input within dendrites, and this complexity is lost in models that assume neurons to be a fundamental unit. Dendritic branches can be modeled as spatial compartments, whose activity is related to passive membrane properties, but may also be different depending on input from synapses. [[Compartmental modelling of dendrites]] is especially helpful for understanding the behavior of neurons that are too small to record with electrodes, as is the case for ''Drosophila melanogaster''.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gouwens NW, Wilson RI | title = Signal propagation in Drosophila central neurons | journal = Journal of Neuroscience | volume = 29 | issue = 19 | pages = 6239–6249 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19439602 | pmc = 2709801 | doi = 10.1523/jneurosci.0764-09.2009 | doi-access = free }}</ref>