An ion channel omnimodel for standardized biophysical neuron modelling

Abstract

Biophysical neuron modeling is an indispensable tool in neuroscience research, with the combination of diverse ion channel kinetics and morphologies being used to explain various single-neuron properties and responses. Despite this, there is no standard way of formulating ion channel models, making it challenging to relate models to one another and experimental data. Here, we revive the idea of a standard model for ion channels based on the Hodgkin-Huxley formulation, and apply it to a recently curated database of ion channel models. We demonstrate that this standard formulation, which we refer to as an omnimodel, accurately fits the majority of voltage-gated models in the database (over 3,000 models). It produces similar, if not identical, responses to voltage-clamp protocols in simulations where the ion channel omnimodels were used. Importantly, the standard formalism enables easy comparison of models based on parameter settings. It can also be used to make new observations about the space of ion channel kinetics found in neurons. Furthermore, it facilitates the inference of ion channel parameters from the responses to standard protocols. We provide an interactive platform to compare and select channel models, and encourage the community to use this standard formulation whenever possible, to facilitate understanding and comparison among models.