Color-coded current changes in a low-voltage activated calcium channel decrease from 100% (left) to 0% (right). Image credit: Alonso and Marder 2019 (CC BY 4.0)
The nervous system contains networks of neurons that generate electrical signals to communicate with each other and the rest of the body. Such electrical signals are due to the flow of ions into or out of the neurons via proteins known as ion channels. Neurons have many different kinds of ion channels that only allow specific ions to pass. Therefore, for a neuron to produce an electrical signal, the activities of several different ion channels need to be coordinated so that they all open and close at certain times.
Researchers have previously used data collected from various experiments to develop detailed models of electrical signals in neurons. These models incorporate information about how and when the ion channels may open and close, and can produce numerical simulations of the different ionic currents. However, it can be difficult to display the currents and observe how they change when several different ion channels are involved.
Alonso and Marder used simple mathematical concepts to develop new methods to display ionic currents in computational models of neurons. These tools use color to capture changes in ionic currents and provide insights into how the opening and closing of ion channels shape electrical signals.
The methods developed by Alonso and Marder could be adapted to display the behavior of biochemical reactions or other topics in biology and may, therefore, be useful to analyze data generated by computational models of many different types of cells. Additionally, these methods may potentially be used as educational tools to illustrate the coordinated opening and closing of ion channels in neurons and other fundamental principles of neuroscience that are otherwise hard to demonstrate.
