Editing Pyramidal cell (section)

===Dendritic spines===

[[Dendritic spines]] receive most of the excitatory impulses ([[Excitatory postsynaptic potential|EPSP]]s) that enter a pyramidal cell. Dendritic spines were first noted by Ramón y Cajal in 1888 by using [[Golgi's method]]. Ramón y Cajal was also the first person to propose the physiological role of increasing the receptive surface area of the neuron. The greater the pyramidal cell's surface area, the greater the neuron's ability to process and integrate large amounts of information. Dendritic spines are absent on the soma, while the number increases away from it.<ref name ="Pablo" /> The typical apical dendrite in a rat has at least 3,000 dendritic spines. The average human apical dendrite is approximately twice the length of a rat's, so the number of dendritic spines present on a human apical dendrite could be as high as 6,000.<ref name="LaBerge">{{cite journal | vauthors = Laberge D, Kasevich R | title = The apical dendrite theory of consciousness | journal = Neural Networks | volume = 20 | issue = 9 | pages = 1004–1020 | date = November 2007 | pmid = 17920812 | doi = 10.1016/j.neunet.2007.09.006 }}</ref>