APPLICATION OF THE LINE THEORY TO TRANSMEMBRANE POTENTIAL CHANGES IN NERVE FIBRES

Abstract

Line theory and the description of phenomena in subthreshold stimulated nerve fibres have many common features. This paper offers accurate formulations of these relations. It starts with the partial differential equation u″ = r1 · Cm · u + r1gm · u for subthreshold changes of the deviation of the membrane potential from the resting value. For sinusoidal stimulation the characteristic quantities describing the subthreshold behaviour of a nerve fibre are derived from this equation. For step stimulation a (the attenuation constant) becomes independent of frequency and is a measure of the spatial decay of the membrane voltage changes, while transients are characterized by the time constant of the nerve fibre. The investigation of biological processes in neuron systems with the help of electro‐technical concepts may be included in the realm of cybernetic methods.

Citation

ALTMANN, A.J.‐. (1974), "APPLICATION OF THE LINE THEORY TO TRANSMEMBRANE POTENTIAL CHANGES IN NERVE FIBRES", Kybernetes, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 67-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb005354