Figure 1.

From complex to simplified neuron model. Neurons exhibit complex properties that affect synaptic plasticity, circuit dynamics and behavior. The point neuron described here shows that it is possible to capture this complexity through a simplified model. The top left panel shows a Golgi cell of mouse cerebellum stained with red tomato and reconstructed using a fluorescence confocal microscope (courtesy of Prof. Javier De Felipe, Department of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology, Instituto Cajal (CSIC), Madrid, Spain). The Golgi cell shows a complex set of dendritic and axonal ramifications. In whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiological recordings from the soma, the Golgi cell behaves as a pacemaker generating adapting spike trains in response to step current injection (bottom left) and other more complex properties that are explained in this paper. As shown in the picture, membrane potential firing and subthreshold properties recorded in vitro (Left) can be observed in simulated spiking patterns and subthreshold dynamics obtained through the E-GLIF point neuron (Right).