Modeling simple and complex active neurons

Over the last decade the view of how neurons process synaptic input has shifted fundamentally. Previously the common view was that in most neurons largely passive dendrites collect synaptic charge and convey it in a non-linear but still straightforward manner to the soma. ^1,2 Recently, it has become accepted that entirely passive dendrites do not exist. ³ The interaction between dendritic voltage-gated conductances and synaptic input has become a major topic of research where quantitative modeling plays an important role. ^4,5 But it is not trivial to construct a detailed morphologically correct model with active membrane. Therefore this chapter is built around the question “what is the right level of complexity for a model of an active neuron?".