Gap junctions synchronize synaptic input rather than spike output of olivary neurons.

Electronic coupling in the inferior olive is supposed to underlie the synchrony of complex spike activities of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex. Here we show a computational model which suggests that the olivary gap junctions may synchronize the input rather than the neuronal output. As such, coupling may influence the absolute moment in time of the complex spike activity rather than their synchrony.