Overview of the CellBuilder
The CellBuilder is a graphical tool for creating, editing,
and managing models of nerve cells.
It is probably most useful in two different settings.
The first, which you are exploring in this exercise,
is when you want to build a model from scratch
that will have only a few sections.
If you need more than 5 - 10 sections,
you might prefer to write an algorithm
that creates the model under program control.
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Later in this course you will encounter the second setting
in which the CellBuilder is helpful:
when you already have a model cell with a large number of sections,
and you want to make targeted changes in its
biophysical or anatomical properties without having to write any code.
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The CellBuilder breaks the process of creating
and managing a model of a cell into several tasks.
These tasks are analogous to what you would do
if you were writing a program in hoc.
They are
- setting up the topology (branching pattern) of the model
- grouping sections into subsets.
For example, it might make sense to group dendritic branches
into subsets according to anatomical criteria
(e.g. basilar, apical, oblique, spiny, aspiny),
or biophysical criteria (passive, active).
- assigning geometric properties to individual sections
or subsets of sections (e.g. length, diameter)
- assigning biophysical properties to individual sections
or subsets of sections (e.g. cytoplasmic resistivity,
membrane capacitance, ion channels, buffers, pumps)
Finally, the CellBuilder lets you save your model
to a file for future use,
or export it to NEURON's interpreter
so you can run simulations with it immediately.
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The CellBuilder can also import a model that already exists
during a NEURON session.
As you will see in a later exercise,
this is particularly useful for dealing with complex models
that are based on morphometric data.
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NEURON hands-on course
Copyright © 1998-2001 by N.T. Carnevale and M.L. Hines,
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