Abstract

Mathematical modeling has been and will continue to be central to the understanding of the emerging function of the nervous system. From the firing of action potentials - with their all-or-none characteristic - to the rich dynamical repertoire of neural networks, the equations and numerical models that describe them are a key part of our understanding of the nervous system. Moreover, they continue to be the subject of further research. In this chapter, we will describe what a mathematical model is and why it is useful. Then, we will describe models of neurons and networks of neurons, emphasizing on how the biophysical concepts are translated to equations.