Channel firing without a current injection

[hallockk]

Several of my lab members have asked if there's a way in NEURON to fire some HH channels without injecting current using something like Iclamp. Is there?

[ted]

fire some HH channels

Fire channels?

[hallockk]

I'd like to be able to open an HH channel without externally injecting current. Maybe have a channel that opens and closes at specific time intervals? I haven't spent much time looking at channels that open based on concentration changes; maybe I could fluctuate an external ion concentration as a way of controlling the open and closed channel states.

[ted]

Sounds like you want a mechanism with stochastic channel behavior. An example is built into NEURON's demonstration program neurondemo. You can implement new ones for yourself with the Channel Builder. See the Channel Builder tutorials at NEURON's Documentation page http://www.neuron.yale.edu/neuron/docs