Non-Spiking Chemical Synapse Model

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Free C++ source code for the non-spiking chemical synapse model is available.

Figure 1. Non-spiking chemical synapse property dialog.

This dialog box is used to specify the properties of different types of non-spiking chemical synapses. A non-spiking chemical synapse is a class of synapse in which transmitter release, and hence the post-synaptic conductance change, does not require a spike in the pre-synaptic neuron. Instead, transmitter release is dependent on the membrane potential of the pre-synaptic neuron, in such a way that it increases when the pre-synaptic neuron is depolarised (see also Spiking Chemical Synaptic Types). See Synaptic Models for more details of how the different classes of synapse are modeled.

Synapse Properties

All the synapses in this module are derived from the Link object and share the properties of that item. For a description of these properties please see the text that discusses the Link properties.

Equilibrium potential
Enter the equilibrium (reversal) potential for this synaptic type.
Acceptable range: -100 to 300 mV.

Maximum synaptic conductance
Enter the maximum amplitude of the post-synaptic conductance change which this synapse mediates. A value of 0 means that the synapse is effectively switched off. Note: amplitude is defined per unit size (effectively per unit membrane area). This means that conductance scales proportionally with changes in the relative electrical size of the neuron, so that changes in neuron size make no difference to the amplitude of the synaptic response (for comparison see Electrical Synaptic Types).
Acceptable range: 0 to 100 uS/size.

Name
This is a text description of this synapse.

Pre-Synaptic Saturation Level
Enter the membrane potential of the pre-synaptic neuron at which transmitter release, and hence the post-synaptic conductancem reaches its maximum value.
Acceptable range: -100 to 300 mV.

Pre-Synaptic Threshold
Enter the threshold membrane potential of the pre-synaptic neuron at which transmitter release, and hence the post-synaptic conductance defined above, starts to increase above the 0 level.
Acceptable range: -100 to 300 mV.
Synapse Type
This is the type of synapse. It can be spiking-chemical, non-spiking chemical, or electrical. The is a read-only value.