Download Title: A mathematical model of a GnRH neuron Abstract

Title: A mathematical model of a GnRH neuron
Abstract:
Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) neurons are situated in the
hypothalamus, and play a major role in the control of fertility and maturation, via their
secretion of GnRH which causes the secretion of gonadotropin from the pituitary. As
with most endocrine cells, the secretion of GnRH is controlled in ways we do not fully
understand. However, secretion of GnRH is closely related to bursts of membrane
potential spikes and to associated increases in the concentration of free intracellular
calcium. Recent experimental techniques now allow for the simultaneous
measurement of membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentration in GnRH
neurons in brain slice preparations.
Based on these recent data we constructed a mathematical model which predicted
the existence of a new calcium-dependent potassium channel in GnRH neurons.
Experimental confirmation of this prediction has led to a greater understanding of the
mechanisms underlying electrical bursting in GnRH neurons. Furthermore, recent
extension of the model to study spatio-temporal data has allowed us to understand
how various segments of the GnRH neuron interact to control bursting, which is
initiated in a region approximately 100 microns distant from the soma, but is
controlled by calcium release processes in the soma.
I shall be briefly presenting the experimental data and our model, and showing how
the model results have allowed for a much greater understanding of the data. In
particular I will discuss how our model has interacted with the data, and our model
predictions have been confirmed in some cases, but shown to be wrong in other
cases.