The emergence of community models in computational neuroscience: The 40-year history of the cerebellar purkinje cell

Abstract

The previous chapter in this volume considers the 20-year development of technology supporting the reuse and reproducibility of computational models. This chapter considers the specific case of the 40-year history of modeling cerebellar Purkinje cells, resulting in the emergence of one of the first "community models" in computational neuroscience. The chapter traces the model-based progress in understanding the relationship between Purkinje cell structure and function, as well as the implications of those results for our understanding of the function of this cell and the cerebellum in general. Using the history of Purkinje cell modeling as an example, the chapter also identifies the importance of the development of community models as a base for the eventual establishment of a quantitative understructure for neuroscience as a whole.