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Summary: RAPID PUBLICATIONJOURNALOFNEUROPHYSIOLOGY
Vol. 67, No. 6, June 1992. Printed in U.S.A.
Artificial Electrical Synapsesin Oscillatory Networks
ANDREW A. SHARP, L. F. ABBOTT, AND EVE MARDER
Biophysics Program, Physics Department, Biology Department and Center for Complex Systems,
Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02254
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
I. We use an electronic circuit to artificially electrically couple
neurons.
2. Strengthening the coupling between an oscillating neuron
and a hyperpolarized, passive neuron can either increase or de-
crease the frequency of the oscillator depending on the properties
of the oscillator.
3. The result of electrically coupling two neuronal oscillators
depends on the membrane potentials, intrinsic properties of the
neurons, and the coupling strength.
4. The interplay between chemical inhibitory synapses and
electrical synapses can be studied by creating both chemical and
electrical synapses between two cultured neurons and by artifi-
cially strengthening the electrical synapse between the ventricular
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