Generation and Transmission of Action Potential in Nerve Cells and Neuron Populations Based on the Realistic Hodgkin-Huxley Neuron Model

Abstract

There are several types of nerve cells in the central nervous system. Thanks to the synaptic connections, these cells form large and complicated networks. However, these cells have a stereotypical electrical activity called action potential (AP) or spike. In this work, the mechanisms of formation of this typical electrical signal and the methods of transferring from one cell to another were investigated using Hodgkin-Huxley neuron model simulations. It has been seen that the formation of AP is based on the principle of "all or nothing" and that ion channel dynamics are critical in the typical form of AP. It has been shown that signal transduction between nerve cells is transmitted by post-synaptic potential and that these signals may be cell depolarizing or polarizing. Finally, it is discussed that these electrical activities are quantities that can be measured at micro and macro levels, and various methods are used for this purpose.

Keywords

• Action Potential
• Post-synaptic Potentials
• Nerve Cell
• Hodgkin-Huxley model

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