Modeling the dopaminergic nerve terminal.

A method is described for developing and evaluating models of neurochemical processes. Computer simulation and simplex optimization are used to examine a model of the dopaminergic nerve terminal of the rat striatum. In the model, synthesis, storage, release, uptake, and metabolism are described by a set of non-linear differential equations. Parameters of the model are optimized with respect to diverse experimental data. These data include steady state passage of radioactivity, decline in total dopamine after synthesis inhibition, and change in extracellular dopamine concentration during electrical stimulation.