Interneurons are involved in coordination and synchronization of primary neurons signaling dynamics. Typically they receive both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs mediated by various neurotransmitters. These inputs can be also modulated by extracellular factors including gliotransmitters released by neighboring astrocytes.
We propose a mean field model of interneuron firing rate dynamics controlled by astrocyte. The interneuron is modeled by a Buzsaki model supplied with excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. Presynaptic dynamics is described by a sequence of neurotransmitter release events distributed in time according to Poisson distribution. Postsynaptic dynamics is modeled by a gamma function distribution of amplitudes of postsynaptic currents (PSCs) . The astrocyte is described by gliotransmitter concentrations as a function of presynaptic activity. We describe how the astrocyte is capable to coordinate the excitatory and the inhibitory input permitting to balance the spiking rate at some homeostatic level. We also analyze the influence of extracellular matrix components on facilitation or depression the interneuron spiking rate.
The research was supported in part by the Ministry of education and science of Russia (Project Nos. 11.G34.31.0012) by RFFI (№14-04-32211 mol_а, №13-02-01223\13) and by the Russian President Scholarship (SP-4608.2013.4).