Action potential propagation in neurons.

Abstract

We study the propagation of electrical signals in neurons by numerically solving the Hodgkin & Huxley cable equations of action potential propagation for the squid giant axon. For this we represent the biological membrane as an equivalent circuit containing voltagegated ion channels that selectively open depending on the voltage. The presence of these voltage-gated channels turn out to be critical for obtaining the standard action potential form. The results that we obtain from simulations are in good agreement with experimental recordings done by Hodgkin & Huxley. We numerically solved the Hodgkin & Huxley equations for the squid giant axon at different temperatures and studied the obtained action potentials and ionic currents as a function of time and position.