Martinotti cell

Recent research suggests that Martinotti cells are associated with a cortical dampening mechanism.

Martinotti cells are small multipolar neurons with short branching dendrites.

Rare cell prevents rampant brain activity - on the discovery of potential dampening influence of Martinotti cells.

Giovanni Martinotti describes cortical cells later known as Martinotti cells.

Martinotti cells express somatostatin and sometimes calbindin, but not parvalbumin or vasoactive intestinal peptide.

When the pyramidal neuron, which is the most common type of neuron in the brain, starts getting overexcited, Martinotti cells start sending inhibitory signals to the surrounding neurons.

It has a dense network of tangentially oriented fibers and cells made of axons of martinotti cells and stellate cells, as well as apical dendrites of pyramidal cells.

Among GABAergic interneurons, reelin seems to be detected predominantly in those expressing calretinin and calbindin, like bitufted, horizontal, and Martinotti cells, but not parvalbumin-expressing cells, like chandelier or basket neurons.

Historically, the discovery of Martinotti cells has been mistakenly attributed to Giovanni Martinotti 1888, although it is now accepted that they were actually discovered by Carlo Martinotti, a student of Camillo Golgi.