Modeling of neurons and their interactions. overview of approaches and methods

The article contains a detailed overview of mathematical models of neurons and neural interactions. Models are divided into two large but unequal classes: “electrical”, which pay attention only to electrical processes, and “heterochemical”, in which the main emphasis is on the chemistry of the neuron, on its chemical inputs and outputs. The first class of models is much broader because it has a longer history. It contains models of neurons of varying complexity: from the simplest (McCulloch – Pitts model) to very complex ones, such as the Hodgkin – Huxley model and its modifications. Models of the second class belong to a relatively new developing direction in neurobiology and neuroinformatics. Their number is not very large yet. At the end of the article, the asynchronous heterochemical model proposed by the authors together with colleagues from the Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences of RAS and the Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology of RAS is briefly described.