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Volume 8 Supplement 2

Sixteenth Annual Computational Neuroscience Meeting: CNS*2007

  • Poster presentation
  • Open Access

Computational model of a modulatory cell type in the feeding network of the snail, Lymnaea stagnalis

  • 1, 2Email author,
  • 2,
  • 1,
  • 2 and
  • 2
BMC Neuroscience20078 (Suppl 2) :P113

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2202-8-S2-P113

©  Vavoulis et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2007

  • Published:

Keywords

  • Serotonergic Neuron
  • Interspike Interval
  • Biological Neuron
  • Tonic Firing
  • Rectifier Potassium Current

Introduction

Realistic mathematical models of single neurons are significant in assessing the contribution of specific ionic conductances to neuronal excitability. This study presents a detailed computational model of the Cerebral Giant Cells (CGCs), a pair of serotonergic neurons in the feeding network of Lymnaea stagnalis, which are critical for the expression of motor behaviour (feeding) and the formation of long-term memory.

Methods

First, we fitted a single-compartment, Hodgkin-Huxley model of the CGCs to two-electrode voltage- and current-clamp data [1] using a combination of linear and non-linear least-square fitting techniques. Then, we selectively blocked each ionic current to assess its role in the model, thus mimicking the application of pharmacological agents in the biological neuron.

Results

The model replicates accurately the shape of the action potentials and the tonic firing (~0.74 Hz) of the biological neuron (Fig. 1A). A persistent sodium current I NaP and a transient low-threshold calcium current I LVA keep the neuron spontaneously active (Fig. 1Bi, ii). A transient potassium current I A regulates the interspike interval, while a transient high-threshold calcium current I HVA increases the duration of each spike (Fig. 1Biii, iv). Transient sodium and delayed rectifier potassium currents are responsible for the depolarizing and repolarizing phases of the action potential, as in the classical Hodgkin-Huxley model. The available experimental data [1] are in agreement with these conclusions.
Figure 1
Figure 1

Overview of the CGCs model and the contribution of specific currents to neuronal excitability. In A, the model has been shifted to the right by 2 msec compared to the biological action potential.

Conclusion

The model we have developed here provides an accurate description of the CGCs at the biophysical level and it is a useful tool for studying the electrical properties of these important modulatory neurons.

Declarations

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by EPSRC and BBSRC, United Kingdom

Authors’ Affiliations

(1)
Ctr. for Scientific Computing, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
(2)
Sussex Ctr. for Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK

References

  1. Staras K, Gyori J, Kemenes G: Voltage-gated ionic currents in an identified modulatory cell type controlling molluscan feeding. Eur J Neurosci. 2002, 15: 109-119. 10.1046/j.0953-816x.2001.01845.x.PubMedView ArticleGoogle Scholar

Copyright

© Vavoulis et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2007

This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd.

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BMC Neuroscience

ISSN: 1471-2202

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