Dynamic transition on the seizure-like neuronal activity by astrocytic calcium channel block

The involvement of astrocytes in neuronal firing dynamics is becoming increasingly evident. In this study, we used a classical hippocampal tripartite synapse model consisting of soma-dendrite coupled neuron models and a Hodgkin-Huxley-like astrocyte model, to investigate the seizure-like firing in the somatic neuron induced by the over-expressed neuronal N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Based on this model, we further investigated the effect of the astrocytic channel block on the neuronal firing through a bifurcation analysis. Results show that blocking inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate(IP3)-dependent calcium channel in astrocytes efficiently suppresses the astrocytic calcium oscillation, which in turn suppresses the seizure-like firing in the neuron.