Videos

Estimating Gap Junction Properties of Electrically Coupled Neurons From Measurements Made in the Soma

Presenter
August 7, 2018
Abstract
The stomatogastric ganglion (STG) is a neuronal circuit found in lobsters and crabs that generates simple rhythmic behaviors such as walking and breathing. While the circuit as a whole can be observed, the smaller scale structure is mostly unknown and unstudied. In particular, the location of gap junctions electrically coupling one neuron to another is difficult to determine. This location affects errors made in studying coupled versus uncoupled neurons and can affect nearby chemical synapses. We aim to use computational modeling to better understand how different properties of electrically coupled neurons affect voltage measurements made in the soma (cell body). We then determine rudimentary fits to biological data that give a rough first estimate of the location of the gap junction.