Synthesis of models for excitable membranes, synaptic transmission and
neuromodulation
using a common kinetic formalism
Alain Destexhe, Zachary F. Mainen and Terrence J. Sejnowski
Journal of Computational Neuroscience 1, 195-230 (1994)
Markov kinetic models were used to synthesize a complete description of
synaptic transmission, including opening of voltage-dependent channels in the
presynaptic terminal, release of neurotransmitter, gating of postsynaptic
receptors, and activation of second-messenger systems. These kinetic schemes
provide a more general framework for modeling ion channels than the
Hodgkin-Huxley formalism, supporting a continuous spectrum of descriptions
ranging from the very simple and computationally efficient to the highly complex
and biophysically precise. Examples are given of simple kinetic schemes based on
fits to experimental data that capture the essential properties of voltage-gated,
synaptic and neuromodulatory currents. The Markov formalism allows the dynamics
of ionic currents to be considered naturally in the larger context of biochemical
signal transduction. This framework can facilitate the integration of a wide
range of experimental data and promote consistent theoretical analysis of neural
mechanisms from molecular interactions to network computations.
Full text (postscript)
Source
code for the Neuron v3.x simulation package
(Demo reproduces the figures of this and the Neural
Computation paper )