The Huguenard Lab

This is an example of a relay neuron from rat somatosensory thalamus. It has been recorded with an intracellular electrode and then stained with the marker biocytin. Using Neurolucida, we can reconstruct the geometric properties of the cell and then obtain a realistic multicompartment computational model based on the its known biophysical properties. Network models can then be assembled based on as many single cell types as exist in the relevant circuitry. 

Intracellular recordings from a relay cell and an inhibitory neuron from the thalamic reticular nucleus. Both cell types display a prominent burst firing pattern generated by transient voltage-dependent calcium channels (T channels). Relay neurons are now know to express high levels of the alpha1g Ca²⁺ channel, while reticular neurons express high levels of alpha1h and alpha1i.  The latter is likely responsible for the prolonged burst firng obtained in reticular cells.