title: Type I burst excitability.
abstract: We introduce the concept of "type I burst excitability", which is a generalization of the "normal" excitability that is well-known in cardiac and neural systems. We demonstrate this type of burst excitability in a specific model system, a pyramidal cell from the electrosensory lateral line lobe of the weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus. As depolarizing current is increased, a saddle-node bifurcation of periodic orbits occurs, which separates tonic and burst activity. This bifurcation is responsible for the excitable nature of the system, and is the basis for the "type I" designation. We verify the existence of this transition from in vitro recordings of a number of actual pyramidal cells. A scaling relationship between the magnitude and duration of a current pulse required to induce a burst is derived. We also observe this type of burst excitability and the scaling relationships in a multicompartmental model that is driven by realistic stochastic synaptic inputs mimicking sensory input. We conclude by discussing the relevance of burst excitability to communication between weakly electric fish.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada K1N 6N5. c.r.laing@massey.ac.nz
authors.forename: Carlo R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Laing
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Doiron
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Longtin
authors.forename: Liza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.forename: Ray W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maler
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002451:Cell Compartmentation / Q000502:physiology; D004555:Electric Fish / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D023421:Models, Animal; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*