This is the readme for this pgenesis code associated with the paper:

Klaus A, Planert H, Hjorth J, Berke JD, Silberberg G, Kotaleski JH
(2011) Striatal fast-spiking interneurons: from firing patterns to
postsynaptic impact Front. Syst. Neurosci.

These model files were supplied by Andreas Klaus.

Abstract:

In the striatal microcircuit, fast-spiking (FS) interneurons have an
important role in mediating inhibition onto neighboring medium spiny
(MS) projection neurons. In this study, we combined computational
modeling with in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological measurements
to investigate FS cells in terms of their discharge properties and
their synaptic efficacies onto MS neurons. In vivo firing of striatal
FS interneurons is characterized by a high firing variability. It is
not known, however, if this variability results from the input that FS
cells receive, or if it is promoted by the stuttering spike behavior
of these neurons. Both our model and measurements in vitro show that
FS neurons that exhibit random stuttering discharge in response to
steady depolarization, do not show the typical stuttering behavior
when they receive fluctuating input. Importantly, our model predicts
that electrically coupled FS cells show substantial spike
synchronization only when they are in the stuttering
regime. Therefore, together with the lack of synchronized firing of
striatal FS interneurons that has been reported in vivo, these results
suggest that neighboring FS neurons are not in the stuttering regime
simultaneously and that in vivo FS firing variability is more likely
determined by the input fluctuations. Furthermore, the variability in
FS firing is translated to variability in the postsynaptic amplitudes
in MS neurons due to the strong synaptic depression of the FS-to-MS
synapse. Our results support the idea that these synapses operate over
a wide range from strongly depressed to almost fully recovered. The
strong inhibitory effects that FS cells can impose on their
postsynaptic targets, and the fact that the FS-to-MS synapse model
showed substantial depression over extended periods of time might
indicate the importance of cooperative effects of multiple presynaptic
FS interneurons and the precise orchestration of their activity.
