Rhythmogenesis in single cells and population models: Olfactory bulb and hippocampus

Dynamics of single cells, small networks and large cell populations are the subject of investigation. The generation and propagation of action potentials in the two major cell types of the olfactory bulb, i.e. in the mitral and granule cells, are simulated by multi-compartmental modeling techniques. The specific effects of the individual ionic currents, the propagation of the signals through the compartments, and dynamic phenomena occurring in small networks (such as synchronized oscillation due to excitatory and inhibitory coupling) have been demonstrated. A statistical model is given to describe the electrical activity patterns of large neural populations. The model is applied for describing the CA3 region of the hippocampus by incorporating some basic electrophysiological properties of hippocampal pyramidal and inhibitory neurons. Population activities as well as underlying single cell voltages are simulated during population bursts in the model of disinhibited hippocampal CA3 slice.