TY - JOUR
T1 - The impact of anomalous diffusion on action potentials in myelinated neurons
AU - Drapaca, Corina S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Action potentials in myelinated neurons happen only at specialized locations of the axons known as the nodes of Ranvier. The shapes, timings, and propagation speeds of these action potentials are controlled by biochemical interactions among neurons, glial cells, and the extracellular space. The complexity of brain structure and processes suggests that anomalous diffusion could affect the propagation of action potentials. In this paper, a spatio-temporal fractional cable equation for action potentials propagation in myelinated neurons is proposed. The impact of the ionic anomalous diffusion on the distribution of the membrane potential is investigated using numerical simulations. The results show spatially narrower action potentials at the nodes of Ranvier when using spatial derivatives of the fractional order only and delayed or lack of action potentials when adding a temporal derivative of the fractional order. These findings could reveal the pathological patterns of brain diseases such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease, which have become more prevalent in the latest years.
AB - Action potentials in myelinated neurons happen only at specialized locations of the axons known as the nodes of Ranvier. The shapes, timings, and propagation speeds of these action potentials are controlled by biochemical interactions among neurons, glial cells, and the extracellular space. The complexity of brain structure and processes suggests that anomalous diffusion could affect the propagation of action potentials. In this paper, a spatio-temporal fractional cable equation for action potentials propagation in myelinated neurons is proposed. The impact of the ionic anomalous diffusion on the distribution of the membrane potential is investigated using numerical simulations. The results show spatially narrower action potentials at the nodes of Ranvier when using spatial derivatives of the fractional order only and delayed or lack of action potentials when adding a temporal derivative of the fractional order. These findings could reveal the pathological patterns of brain diseases such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease, which have become more prevalent in the latest years.
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U2 - 10.3390/fractalfract5010004
DO - 10.3390/fractalfract5010004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099929677
VL - 5
SP - 1
EP - 19
JO - Fractal and Fractional
JF - Fractal and Fractional
SN - 2504-3110
IS - 1
M1 - 4
ER -