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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches
Published on: June 21, 2022
Categorization of neural excitability using threshold models
1Cortex Project, INRIA Lorraine, Campus Scientifique, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France.
Abstract:
A classification of spiking neurons according to the transition from quiescence to periodic firing of action potentials is commonly used. Nonbursting neurons are classified into two types, type I and type II excitability. We use simple phenomenological spiking neuron models to derive a criterion for the determination of the neural excitability based on the afterpotential following a spike. The crucial characteristic is the existence for type II model of a positive overshoot, that is, a delayed after depolarization, during the recovery process of the membrane potential. Our prediction is numerically tested using well-known type I and type II models including the Connor, Walter, & McKown (1977) model and the Hodgkin-Huxley (1952) model.
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