Virtual Instrumentation in Education 1997
Dynamic synapse simulator for studying neuronal
circuitry using Labwindows/CVI
Yair Manor and Farzan Nadim
Oscillations generated by neuronal networks are regulated and modulated through
synaptic interactions. To study the role of individual synaptic connections for regulation
of rhythmic behavior, we eliminate the biological synapse by killing the presynaptic
neuron. We introduce a model artificial synapse based on the biological one. Before
eliminating the presynaptic cell, we record and store its activity. The artificial synapse
is generated by continuousely monitoring the voltage of the presynaptic neuron, computing
the synaptic conductance by numerical integration of a set of differential equations that
depend on the presynaptic waveform that we play back. The resulting conductance and the
monitored postsynaptic potential are used to calculate a current, which is injected into
the postsynaptic cell. Because the current injection modifies the rhythm, the period of
the presynaptic waveform played back into the model is adjuested online.
