Persistent activity has been reported in many brain areas and is hypothesized to mediate working memory and emotional brain states and to rely upon network or biophysical feedback. Here we demonstrate a novel mechanism by which persistent neuronal activity can be generated without feedback, relying instead on the slow removal of Na+ from neurons following bursts of activity. This is a realistic conductance-based model that was constructed using the detailed morphology of a single typical accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) mitral cell for which the electrophysiological properties were characterized.
Model Type: Neuron or other electrically excitable cell
Region(s) or Organism(s): Olfactory bulb
Cell Type(s): Olfactory bulb (accessory) mitral cell
Currents: I Na,t; I K; I K,leak; I CAN; I Sodium; I Calcium; I Potassium; Na/Ca exchanger; Na/K pump; I Na, leak; Ca pump
Model Concept(s): Activity Patterns; Parameter Fitting; Working memory; Persistent activity; Olfaction
Simulation Environment: NEURON; Python
Implementer(s): Zylbertal, Asaph [asaph.zylbertal at mail.huji.ac.il]
References:
Zylbertal A, Kahan A, Ben-Shaul Y, Yarom Y, Wagner S. (2015). Prolonged Intracellular Na+ Dynamics Govern Electrical Activity in Accessory Olfactory Bulb Mitral Cells. PLoS biology. 13 [PubMed]