A Simple Quantitative Model of Neuromodulation. Part I: Ion Flow Through Neural Ion Channels

TL;DR

This paper introduces a simplified, validated model of ionic currents through neuronal membranes, integrating ion transport physics with experimental calibration, to better understand neuromodulation mechanisms.

Contribution

It presents a novel simplified PNP-based model of ion flow through neural channels, calibrated with experimental data, applicable to multiple ion types and validated against biological measurements.

Findings

Model accurately predicts current-voltage curves for neural cells.

Validated against bacterial and human neural cell data.

Provides accessible data and code for further research.

Abstract

We develop a simple model of ionic current through neuronal membranes as a function of membrane potential and extracellular ion concentration. The model combines a simplified Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) model of ion transport through individual mechanosensitive ion channels with channel activation functions calibrated from ad hoc in-house experimental data. The simplified PNP model is validated against bacterial Gramicidin A ion channel data. The calibrated model accounts for the transport of calcium, sodium, potassium, and chloride and exhibits remarkable agreement with the experimentally measured current-voltage curves for the differentiated human neural cells. All relevant data and code related to the ion flow models are available at DaRUS.