Nerve impulse propagation and wavelet theory

TL;DR

This paper models nerve impulse propagation using wavelet theory, linking quantum channel states to wavelet functions, and provides a mathematical framework for understanding nerve signal transmission.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum-based approach to derive a wavelet function representing nerve impulses and models membrane conductance based on energy levels.

Findings

The PSI function exhibits wavelet properties.

Derived the energy-dependent conductance of axon membranes.

Quantum relations estimate channel transition probabilities.

Abstract

A luminous stimulus which penetrates in a retina is converted to a nerve message. Ganglion cells give a response that may be approximated by a wavelet. We determine a function PSI which is associated with the propagation of nerve impulses along an axon. Each kind of channel (inward and outward) may be open or closed, depending on the transmembrane potential. The transition between these states is a random event. Using quantum relations, we estimate the number of channels susceptible to switch between the closed and open states. Our quantum approach was first to calculate the energy level distribution in a channel. We obtain, for each kind of channel, the empty level density and the filled level density of the open and closed conformations. The joint density of levels provides the transition number between the closed and open conformations. The algebraic sum of inward and outward open channels is a function PSI of the normalized energy E. The function PSI verifies the major properties of a wavelet. We calculate the functional dependence of the axon membrane conductance with the transmembrane energy.