Izhikevich Eugene M
The Neurosciences Institute, 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
Biosystems. 2002 Oct-Dec;67(1-3):95-102. doi: 10.1016/s0303-2647(02)00067-9.
Revealing the role of bursts of action potentials is an important step toward understanding how the neurons communicate. The dominant point of view is that bursts are needed to increase the reliability of communication between neurons [Trends Neurosci. 20 (1997) 38]. In this paper we present an alternative but complementary hypothesis. We consider the effect of a short burst on a model postsynaptic cell having damped oscillation of its membrane potential. The oscillation frequency (eigenfrequency) plays a crucial role. Due to the subthreshold membrane resonance and frequency preference, the responses (i.e. voltage oscillations) of such a cell are amplified when the intra-burst frequency equals the cell's eigenfrequency. Responses are negligible, however, if the intra-burst frequency is twice the eigenfrequency. Thus, the same burst could be effective for one cell and ineffective for another depending on their eigenfrequencies. This theoretical observation suggests that, in addition to coping with unreliable synapses, bursts of action potentials may provide effective mechanisms for selective communication between neurons.
揭示动作电位爆发的作用是迈向理解神经元如何进行通信的重要一步。主流观点认为，爆发是为了提高神经元之间通信的可靠性[《神经科学趋势》20 (1997) 38]。在本文中，我们提出了另一种但互补的假说。我们考虑了一个短脉冲对具有膜电位阻尼振荡的模型突触后细胞的影响。振荡频率（本征频率）起着关键作用。由于阈下膜共振和频率偏好，当脉冲内频率等于细胞的本征频率时，这种细胞的反应（即电压振荡）会被放大。然而，如果脉冲内频率是本征频率的两倍，反应则可以忽略不计。因此，根据它们的本征频率，同一个脉冲对一个细胞可能有效而对另一个细胞可能无效。这一理论观察表明，除了应对不可靠的突触外，动作电位的爆发可能为神经元之间的选择性通信提供有效的机制。
