title: Kinetic model of excitatory synaptic transmission to cerebellar Purkinje cells.
abstract: We present a minimal kinetic model for excitatory synaptic transmission to cerebellar Purkinje cells. The main components are a kinetic model for a single glutamate receptor, which is calibrated with the help of patch clamp data, and a mean field approximation for the dynamics of a population of channels, which generate an EPSC. The resulting minimal model of the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse is used to estimate the dynamics of glutamate in the synaptic cleft and to clarify the role of receptor desensitization in synaptic transmission. We also apply the model to different aspects of synaptic modulation, like long-term depression and potentiation by pharmacological application of ampakines. In the framework of the minimal model these effects can be understood as the result of modified receptor kinetics.
authors.affiliation: Institute für Theoretische Physik, Georg-August-Universität, 37073 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marienhagen
authors.forename: B U
authors.initials: BU
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zippelius
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003864:Depression, Chemical; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000502:physiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008959:Models, Neurological; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011760:Pyrrolidinones / Q000494:pharmacology; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D011760:Pyrrolidinones; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D018698:Glutamic Acid; C036466:aniracetam