Bio170_Lab2_Worksheet. University of California, Merced BIO 170L

BIS- 170L
The Action Potential
February 5, 2007
Name:___________________________
Today we are going to use a software package called SNNAP (Simulator for Neural
Networks and Action Potentials) to study the Hodgkin & Huxley neuronal model.
Hodgkin and Huxley studied the squid giant axon using the voltage clamp technique, and
from their studies of the activation and inactivation of sodium and potassium channels,
devised a mathematical model of the synapse. For more information on SNNAP see Ziv,
Baxter and Byrne (1994) Simulator for Neural Networks and Action Potentials:
Description and Application. J. Neurophysiol. 71: 294-308. For more information on the
Hodgkin & Huxley model, see Hodgkin, A., and Huxley, A. (1952): A quantitative
description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in
nerve. J. Physiol. 117:500544.
To begin Work through the SNNAP tutorial, Chapter 3, until you get to Changing Model
Parameters