Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Anything that doesn't fit elsewhere.
Post Reply
henrychen1986
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:07 pm

Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by henrychen1986 »

Hi! I am looking for the method to convert a serie of tone pulse into the synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON. I searched in the ModelDB and the Programmer's Reference.
Then I tried to use the v.spikebin by using codes like this:

Code: Select all

spikevec=new Vector()
vrec=new Vector()
vrec.record(&toneA.i) //toneA.i is the value of the tone pulse
spikev = spikevec.spikebin(vrec,0.5)
But it did not give me the conversion I expected. Is there anything wrong in this code? Or should there be any other way to do this conversion?

Thanks in advance,

Henry
ted
Site Admin
Posts: 6289
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 4:50 pm
Location: Yale University School of Medicine
Contact:

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by ted »

What's a "tone pulse"? What are you trying to do: generate a stimulus in the middle of a simulation, or record results and analyze them after the end of a simulation?
henrychen1986
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:07 pm

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by henrychen1986 »

ted wrote:What's a "tone pulse"? What are you trying to do: generate a stimulus in the middle of a simulation, or record results and analyze them after the end of a simulation?
Thank you Ted!

A tone pulse is just a series of square waves with a certain frequency, such as sound wave.

Now I have a sound tone pulse (for example in the unit of dB) to be injected as the input into a synaptic channel, I need to convert it into spike (in the unit of mV) by setting a threshold. In GENESIS, there is a function called 'spikegen'. Now I am looking for a similar function in the NEURON.

Thanks!

-Henry
ted
Site Admin
Posts: 6289
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 4:50 pm
Location: Yale University School of Medicine
Contact:

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by ted »

So you merely want to generate a train of spikes, whose parameters (start time, ISI, number) you control? Or do you have experimental data that you want to pass through a filter whose output is a spike train in which the time of each spike is governed by some aspect of the experimental data (e.g. a positive going threshold crossing)?
henrychen1986
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:07 pm

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by henrychen1986 »

ted wrote:So you merely want to generate a train of spikes, whose parameters (start time, ISI, number) you control? Or do you have experimental data that you want to pass through a filter whose output is a spike train in which the time of each spike is governed by some aspect of the experimental data (e.g. a positive going threshold crossing)?
Merely I want to generate a train of spikes with parameter I can control. Also I would like to check how I can set a threshold crossing. If you can give me some directions on what to look for in the NEURON documentations, I will appreciate that!
ted
Site Admin
Posts: 6289
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 4:50 pm
Location: Yale University School of Medicine
Contact:

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by ted »

henrychen1986 wrote:I want to generate a train of spikes with parameter I can control.
If all you need is a train of events, use a NetStim. You'll want to read about how NEURON uses events to implement spike-triggered synaptic transmission, which is described in chapter 10 of The NEURON Book. You'll also want to read
Hines, M.L. and Carnevale, N.T.
Discrete event simulation in the NEURON environment.
Neurocomputing 58-60:1117-1122, 2004
and the Programmer's Reference documentation of NetStim, NetCon, ExpSyn, Exp2Syn, IntFire1, IntFire2, and IntFire4.
henrychen1986
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:07 pm

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by henrychen1986 »

Thank you very much Ted!

The NetStim can work! And this post is helpful (http://www.neuron.yale.edu/phpBB/viewto ... ered#p6554)

Thanks!
ted
Site Admin
Posts: 6289
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 4:50 pm
Location: Yale University School of Medicine
Contact:

Re: Convert tone pulse into synaptic input (spikes) in NEURON

Post by ted »

Glad to be of help. NEURON has many unique features, so it can be difficult for users who are just starting out to know what question to ask, and just as difficult for "experts" to know what is the best answer to a user's question.
Post Reply