Timing Control of Single Neuron Spikes with Optogenetic Stimulation

This paper predicts the ability to externally control the firing times of a cortical neuron whose behavior follows the Izhikevich neuron model. The Izhikevich model provides an efficient and biologically plausible method to track a cortical neuron’s membrane potential and its firing times. The external control is a simple optogenetic model represented by a constant current source that can be turned on or off. This paper considers a firing frequency that is sufficiently low for the membrane potential to return to its resting potential after it fires. The time required for the neuron to charge and for the neuron to recover to the resting potential are fitted to functions of the Izhikevich model parameters. Results show that linear functions of the model parameters can predict the charging times with some accuracy and are sufficient to estimate the highest firing frequency achievable without interspike interference.