3.1 Calcium in Steady State Input................................. 6 3.2 Oscillating Calcium Transient Input.............................. 6

The aim of this project is to assess the effects of intracellular astrocytic calcium transients on neurons. It is known that when amyloid beta (AB), a neurotoxic protein, is applied to a co-cortical cell culture of astrocytes and neurons, astrocytes exhibit a marginal increase in cell death but there is a significantly higher death of neurons. I modelled this phenomena by injecting an astrocytic current that is dependent on intracellular calcium concentration into a neuronal network. I discovered that this current globally inhibits neuron spike rates within the network. This reduction and loss of spikes forms the basis for neuronal death when AB is applied to cortical cell cultures of astrocytes and neurons