Modeling of complex signals in nerve fibers

Abstract

Experiments have demonstrated that signals in nerve fibers are composed by electrical and mechanical components. In this paper a coupled mathematical model is described which unites the governing equations for the action potential, the pressure wave in the axoplasm and the longitudinal and the transverse waves in the surrounding biomembrane into one system of equations. As a solution of this system, an ensemble of waves is generated. The main hypotheses of such a model are related to the nature of coupling forces between the single waves in the ensemble. These coupling forces are assumed to have bi-polar shapes leading to energetically stable solutions. The in silico modeling demonstrates the qualitative resemblance of computed wave profiles to experimental ones. The ideas of possible experimental validation of the model are briefly described.