The Role of Ion Channels in Firing Dynamics of a Two-Compartment Purkinje Cell Model

Ion channels play a vital role in various aspects of cell function. In this paper, we mainly investigate the influence of the hyperpolarization-activated cation current (I-h) and potassium current (I-K) on firing properties in a reduced two-compartment Purkinje cell model. Via numerical simulation methods, we obtain the main results listed as following: (1) the Interspike Intervals (ISI) bifurcation diagrams present a period-adding bifurcation phenomenon with chaos as the hyperpolarization-activated cation conductance increases or potassium conductance decreases; (2) with the variations of these parameters, the mean firing frequency (MFF) linearly changes in the same period of firing modes; (3) the spike-adding transition is not smooth, namely, the transitions of period-n to period n + 1 will pass a chaotic region.