Gain Control by Concerted Changes in I_A and I_H Conductances

Stability of intrinsic electrical activity and modulation of input-output gain are both important for neuronal information processing. It is there-fore of interest to define biologically plausible parameters that allow these two features to coexist. Recent experiments indicate that in some biological neurons, the stability of spontaneous firing can arise from coregulated expression of the electrophysiologically opposing I_A and I_H currents. Here, I show that such balanced changes in I_A and I_H dramatically alter the slope of the relationship between the firing rate and driving current in a Hodgkin-Huxley-type model neuron. Concerted changes in I_A and I_H can thus control neuronal gain while preserving intrinsic activity.