47 Simulation of Synaptic Responses in an Active Membrane Model

Information processing in the brain results from the spread and interaction of electrical and chemical signals within and among neurons. The equations that describe brain dynamics generally do not have analytical solutions. The recent expansion in the use of simulation tools in the field of neuroscience has been encouraged by the rapid growth of quantitative observations that both stimulate and constrain the formulation of new hypotheses of neuronal function. In our research we use the NEURON simulation environment as it is capable of efficient discrete event simulations of networks of spiking neurons, as well as hybrid simulations of nets whose elements include both artificial neurons and neuron models with membrane currents governed by voltage-gated ionic conductances. We studied the kinetics of sodium and potassium channels and how the respective currents are affected by different drugs.