Impulse dependent adaptation in Helix pomatia neurones: effect of the impulse on the firing pattern

In neurones of the ventral ganglion of Helix pomatia an adaptation type is demonstrated where the impulses contribute to the adaptation, as if a slowly changing outward current were associated to every impulse. The current appears to be accumulated from impulse to impulse and the accumulated current to decrease towards zero in the interval between the impulses. This type of adaptation is called impulse dependent. A method to distinguish between impulse dependent adaptation and impulse independent adaptation is described. Typical adaptation curves for the impulse dependent adaptation are shown. With a strong adaptation there is a linear relation between the steady state frequency and the applied stimulus. When stimuli of short duration are applied repetitively, neurones with impulse dependent adaptation respond with spikes on an increasing fraction of the stimuli as the stimulus strength is increased. A simplified model of the adaptation is proposed, and the firing pattern of the cells is compared with that of the model. In this way numerical values of the model parameters have been estimated.