Theoretical work carried out almost a decade ago proposed that subthreshold oscillations in membrane potential could be used to convert synaptic current strength into a code reliant on action potential (AP) latencies. Using whole‐cell recordings we present experimental evidence for the occurrence of prominent network‐driven subthreshold theta oscillations in mitral cells of the mouse olfactory bulb. Activity induced by both injected current and sensory input was accurately reflected in initial AP latency from the beginning of each oscillation cycle. In a network model we found that an AP latency code rather than AP number or instantaneous firing rate provided computational speed and high resolution, and was easily implemented. This coding strategy was also found to be invariant to the total input current as long as the relative input intensities to glomeruli remained constant. However, it was highly sensitive to changes in the ratios of the input currents and improved by lateral inhibitory mechanisms. Since the AP latency‐based coding scheme was dependent on the subthreshold oscillation we conclude that the theta rhythm serves a functional role in temporally reformatting the strengths and patterns of synaptic input in this sensory system.

Neurons display a variety of complex dendritic morphologies even within the same class. We examined the relationship between dendritic arborization and the coupling between somatic and dendritic action potential (AP) initiation sites in layer 5 (L5) neocortical pyramidal neurons. Coupling was defined as the relative reduction in threshold for initiation of a dendritic calcium AP due to a coincident back-propagating AP. Simulations based on reconstructions of biocytin-filled cells showed that addition of oblique branches of the main apical dendrite in close proximity to the soma ( d < 140 μm) increases the coupling between the apical and axosomatic AP initiation zones, whereas incorporation of distal branches decreases coupling. Experimental studies on L5 pyramids in acute brain slices revealed a highly significant ( n = 28, r = 0.63, P < 0.0005) correlation: increasing the fraction of proximal oblique dendrites ( d < 140 μm), e.g., from 30 to 60% resulted on average in an increase of the coupling from approximately 35% to almost 60%. We conclude that variation in dendritic arborization may be a key determinant of variability in coupling (49 ± 17%; range 19–83%; n = 37) and is likely to outweigh the contribution made by variations in active membrane properties. Thus coincidence detection of inputs arriving from different cortical layers is strongly regulated by differences in dendritic arborization.