Anatomy tells you who connects to whom. Physiology tells you what those connections do. These two lessons build the biophysical parameter database that turns a wiring diagram into a simulation.

Lesson 09 — Synaptic Physiology

A SynapseModel database covering 6 neurotransmitter types:

  • Reversal potentials — what voltage each synapse drives toward
  • Receptor kinetics — rise time, decay time, conductance amplitude
  • Confidence levels — distinguishing measured values from literature estimates from educated guesses

Each parameter carries provenance: where it came from, how reliable it is, what the fly-specific evidence says versus the generic insect value.

Lesson 10 — Cell Models

Point neuron models derived from first principles:

  • Leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) — the simplest spiking model, sufficient when topology dominates
  • Graded transmission — for non-spiking interneurons (common in Drosophila)
  • Electrical properties per cell type — membrane time constant, threshold, reset, from the FlyWire cell type catalog

Source files: