Kinetic models of membrane excitability and synaptic interactions.
Alain Destexhe
In: Computational Modeling of Genetic and Biochemical Networks,
Edited by J.M. Bower and H. Bolouri, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2000, pp. 225-262.
Abstract:
This chapter reviews different approaches to model the ion channels underlying
the electrical excitability of membranes in a way that naturally connects with
cellular biochemistry. Voltage-dependent channels, ligand-gated channels, and
second-messenger-gated channels are modeled along the same lines. For each
type of channel, different representations are considered, from biophysically
detailed models to highly simplified two-state (open/closed) representations.
These different kinetic models can be used according to the level of
biophysical detail required, typically multistate Markov models are required
to describe single-channel behavior while simplified models capture the most
salient properties of synaptic interactions necessary for network simulations.
The case of linking ion channel models with various intracellular processes is
also considered. The dynamics of intracellular calcium, calcium-binding
proteins, exocytosis and G-protein mediated responses can be integrated
together with ion channels using similar kinetic equations. This allows to
describe various processes such as electrical excitability, synaptic
transmission and cellular biochemistry using the same formalism.
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