Exercise 5. Effect of passive transmission on synaptic strength.


PLEASE PRINT OUT THESE PAGES FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE PRINTED TEXT BESIDE YOU AS A GUIDE WHEN YOU LOAD AND RUN "NEURON". THIS WILL SAVE YOU HAVING TO JUGGLE BETWEEN NEURON AND NETSCAPE WINDOWS ONCE YOU HAVE THE SIMULATION LOADED.




 

To begin working with this chapter you should have downloaded and installed Neuron, as described in Chapter 1.
 

 

Preparing for the simulation:
  • In this Exercise a long dendrite is simulated. The dendrite has a diameter of 0.2 mm and a length of  200 mm. At one end of the dendrite is an excitatory synapse, towards the other end of the dendrite is a voltage electrode, 0.75 of the way down the dendrite (i.e. at 150 mm).
  • Load the simulation and click on the Init and Run button . The Windows are explained below
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    When you have loaded the simulation you should see Windows arranged as below. Click on the following letters: A  B C D  for a description of the function of each Window.
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     A.  The parameters of the dendrite:

    diam - the axon or dendrite diameter (ignore the check mark)
    cm - the specific membrane capacitance
    g_pas - the passive membrane conductance

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    B. Stimulation Parameter Window: As shown,  this allows you to view and alter the position of  the synapse (blue dot) along the dendrite (red line). Click on various places along the red line to move the synapse.

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    C. Graph of the membrane potential recorded at a point 0.75 of the way along the dendrite -  i.e. 150 mm from the end with the synapse

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    D. The Run/Control Box - click on Init & Run to run a simulation.

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