Skip to main content
. 2008 Sep 10;28(37):9249–9260. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2974-08.2008

Table 2.

Statistical models

Model number, response variable, framework, link function, family Explanatory variable Coefficient Statistic (n for z statistic or edf for t statistic) p
1, number of tips per basal tree, GEE, log link (quasi, variance function = mean) Intercept 2.15 ± 0.39 z = 5.54 (110) <0.001
SP 0.037 ± 0.095 z = 0.39 (110) 0.693
DEP −0.054 ± 0.103 z = −0.52 (110) 0.600
Age 0.006 ± 0.007 z = 0.77 (110) 0.441
Number basal trees −0.12 ± 0.03 z = −4.63 (110) <0.001
2, dendrite intersections, GAM, identity link, Gaussian Intercept 8.4 ± 2.3 t = 3.57 (473) <0.001
f (path length) N/A F = 260 (edf = 7.8) <0.001
SP 0.92 ± 0.63 t = 1.46 (473) 0.146
DEP 0.60 ± 0.67 t = 0.90 (473) 0.371
Age 0.15 ± 0.05 t = 2.92 (473) 0.004
3, basal terminal segment path length, GEE, identity link, Gaussian Intercept 131.4 ± 11.6 z = 11.4 (315) <0.001
SP 0.01 ± 4.7 z = 0.002 (89) 0.999
DEP −7.1 ± 3.4 z = −2.08 (106) 0.037
Branch order −8.3 ± 1.4 z = −6.04 (315) <0.001
Number of basal tips −0.32 ± 0.32 z = −1.03 (315) 0.301
4, basal terminal segment path length, GEE, identity link, Gaussian (interaction model) Intercept 130.4 ± 11.4 z = 11.5 (315) <0.001
SP × age 0.04 ± 0.12 z = 0.36 (89) 0.719
DEP × age −0.16 ± 0.08 z = −1.99 (106) 0.047
Branch order −8.1 ± 1.4 z = −5.81 (315) <0.001
Number of basal tips −0.33 ± 0.32 z = −1.03 (315) 0.303
5, path length to terminal branch point, GEE, log link (quasi, variance function = mean) Intercept 2.63 ± 0.28 z = 9.3 (315) <0.001
SP −0.13 ± 0.06 z = −2.38 (89) 0.017
DEP −0.12 ± 0.06 z = −2.12 (106) 0.033
Branch order 0.24 ± 0.02 z = −14.2 (315) <0.001
Number of basal trees −0.12 ± 0.03 z = −4.11 (315) <0.001
Age 0.013 ± 0.006 z = 2.15 (315) 0.032
6, peak basal spine density, GEE, identity link, Gaussian Intercept 1.97 ± 0.18 z = 10.9 (120) <0.001
SP −0.12 ± 0.07 z = −1.65 (40) 0.099
DEP −0.25 ± 0.07 z = −3.71 (40) <0.001
Age −0.012 ± 0.003 z = −3.42 (120) <0.001
7, peak basal spine density, GEE, identity link, Gaussian (interaction model) Intercept 1.88 ± 0.17 z = 11.3 (120) <0.001
(SP × age) −0.003 ± 0.002 z = −1.96 (40) 0.050
(DEP × age) −0.006 ± 0.001 z = −4.09 (40) <0.001
Age −0.010 ± 0.003 z = −2.97 (120) 0.003
8, apical spine density, GAM, identity link, Gaussian Intercept 1.61 ± 0.16 t = 10.3 (253) <0.001
f (path length) NA F = 1.49 (edf = 2.8) 0.182
SP 0.013 ± 0.055 t = 0.23 (253) 0.817
DEP 0.001 ± 0.059 t = 0.02 (253) 0.981
Age −0.006 ± 0.003 t = 1.85 (253) 0.066
9, total axonal length in regions of proximity, GLM, log link (quasi, variance function = mean2) Intercept 3.03 ± 0.87 t = 3.46 (41) 0.001
(SP × conn) 1.12 ± 0.37 t = 3.04 (41) 0.004
(SP × unconn) −0.27 ± 0.38 t = −0.71 (41) 0.482
DEP 0.68 ± 0.47 t = −1.43 (41) 0.161
Age 0.01 ± 0.02 t = 0.74 (41) 0.466
Intersomatic distance 0.002 ± 0.005 t = −0.45 (41) 0.656
10, axonal varicosity density, GEE, inverse link, gamma family Intercept 1.09 ± 0.13 z = 8.37 (168) <0.001
SP −0.19 ± 0.07 z = −2.63 (126) 0.008
Basal 0.09 ± 0.04 z = 2.27 (103) 0.023
Age 0.003 ± 0.003 z = 1.08 (168) 0.281
11, proportion of terminaux varicosities, GEE, identity link, Gaussian family Intercept 0.101 ± 0.023 z = 4.46 (98) <0.001
(SP × conn) 0.025 ± 0.012 z = 2.07 (52) 0.038
(SP × unconn) 0.053 ± 0.013 z = 4.25 (11) <0.001
(CNTRL × unconn) −0.002 ± 0.013 z = −0.13 (20) 0.889
Age 0.0006 ± 0.0005 z = −1.25 (98) 0.212

Statistical models were classified as generalized linear model (GLM), generalized additive model (GAM), or generalized estimating equations (GEE). Model variables were as follows: number of basal trees, number of basal trees originating from the L2/3 pyramidal neuron soma; intersections, number of intersections with a Sholl shell; path length, path length from the soma; CNTRL, control cortex; age, age in postnatal days; branch order, order of the terminal dendritic branch; number of basal tips, total number of basal dendritic endings for the L2/3 pyramidal neuron; path length to terminal branch point, path length to the point where the terminal segment originates; peak basal spine density, spine count per μm on basal dendrites 50–70 μm from the soma; apical spine density, spine count per micrometer on the apical main stem dendrite; number of basal trees, number of basal dendritic trees on an L2/3 pyramidal neuron; conn, presence of a synaptic connection between the axon of the presynaptic pyramidal neuron with the postsynaptic pyramidal neuron that has been demonstrated electrophysiologically; unconn, electrophysiological testing did not demonstrate evidence for a synaptic connection between the axon of the putative presynaptic pyramidal neuron with the postsynaptic pyramidal neuron; intersomatic distance, distance between the somata of two pyramidal neurons; basal, basal dendrite in RoP; edf, estimated degrees of freedom for explanatory variables that are used as functions in generalized additive models; NA, not applicable.