" ... Here we investigated the role of Ih in cold-sensitive (CS) nerve endings, where cold sensory transduction actually takes place. Corneal CS nerve endings in mice show a rhythmic spiking activity at neutral skin temperature that switches to bursting mode when the temperature is lowered. ... Mathematical modeling shows that the firing phenotype of CS nerve endings from HCN1-/- mice can be reproduced by replacing HCN1 channels with the slower HCN2 channels rather than by abolishing Ih. We propose that Ih carried by HCN1 channels helps tune the frequency of the oscillation and the length of bursts underlying regular spiking in cold thermoreceptors, having important implications for neural coding of cold sensation. "
Model Type: Neuron or other electrically excitable cell
Region(s) or Organism(s): Generic
Currents: I Na,p; I Na,t; I K; I h; I K,Ca
Model Concept(s): Bursting; Oscillations; Simplified Models; Sensory processing; Sensory coding
Simulation Environment: NEURON
Implementer(s): Orio, Patricio [patricio.orio at uv.cl]
References:
Orio P et al. (2012). Role of Ih in the firing pattern of mammalian cold thermoreceptor endings. Journal of neurophysiology. 108 [PubMed]