Computational model for the bushy cell of the cochlear nucleus

A model of the cochlear nucleus bushy cell, adapted from Rothman, Young and Manis (J. Neurophysiol. 70 (1993) 2562-2583), was implemented using GENESI S. The model had one compartment that included Na+(G(Na)) and low- and high -threshold K+ channels (G(KLT) and G(KHT)). When G(KLT) was set to zero, th e model cell's response to a current step changed from onset to regular sus tained. When G(KHT) (representing Kv3.1) was reduced, the action potential became wider. The present model results support the view that the specializ ed functional properties of the bushy cell, i.e., fast membrane time consta nt, onset discharges and entrainment to high-rate pulse train, are produced by combined actions of the G(KLT), G(KHT) and G(Na) channels, and that the se channels adapted to optimize the bushy cell's precise temporal-encoding ability. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.