Functional asymmetry and plasticity of electrical synapses interconnecting neurons through a 36-state model of gap junction channel gating
Fig 5
Asymmetry of transjunctional transfer of APs through electrical synapses caused by gap junction channel rectification.
A–B) Delays between APs transferred through an electrical synapse composed of rectifying channels (RL = 20 mV). Short external stimuli of 250 pA were applied to cell-1 (A) and cell-2 (B). A-a and B-a show voltages in cell-1 (red) and cell-2 (blue), V1 and V2, respectively. Dashed lines show transjunctional voltage spikes (Vj); Vj = V2 –V1. A-b and B-b show resulting changes of junctional conductance (gj). C) Dependence of a delay between APs during anterograde (from cell-1 to cell-2; solid curves) and retrograde (dashed curves) excitation transfer on rectification of gap junctions. D) Dependence of electrotonic coupling asymmetry, K2-1/K1-2, on rectification coefficient, RL.