Mathematical model of bursting in dissociated purkinje neurons.

In vitro, Purkinje cell behaviour is sometimes studied in a dissociated soma preparation in which the dendritic projection has been cleaved. A fraction of these dissociated somas spontaneously burst. The mechanism of this bursting is incompletely understood. We have constructed a biophysical Purkinje soma model, guided and constrained by experimental reports in the literature, that can replicate the somatically driven bursting pattern and which hypothesises Persistent Na(+) current (INaP) to be its burst initiator and SK K(+) current (ISK) to be its burst terminator.