= Burst firing
<Burst firing> is a pattern in which a <neuron> emits groups of closely spaced <action potentials>, separated by longer gaps. A burst criterion must specify the relevant timescale: an <interspike interval> counted as short in one preparation need not define a burst in another. A burst can arise from intrinsic membrane dynamics, coordinated inputs, or their interaction.
An invented spike train makes the distinction quantitative. Put five spikes at $0,10,20,30,40$ milliseconds and five more at $500,510,520,530,540$ milliseconds. There are ten spikes in the one-second observation window, as in a $10\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}$ tonic train, but most within-cluster <interspike intervals> are $10$ milliseconds and the gap between clusters is $460$ milliseconds. Mean count rate alone loses this organization.
A 2018 study combined recordings, pharmacology and modelling of <lateral habenula> <neurons> in rodent preparations. It linked bursting under its experimental conditions to <NMDA receptors> and <T-type calcium channels>, and manipulated firing mode by changing membrane conditions.<Ketamine blocks bursting in the lateral habenula to rapidly relieve depression by Yan Yang and others>[Abstract, Figures2–4 and Extended Data Figure6]{ref} This is a mechanism tested in particular cells and preparations, not a definition requiring those exact channels in every bursting <neuron>.
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