Physiological Aspects of the Use of the Hodgkin–Huxley Model of Action Potential Generation for Neurons in Invertebrates and Vertebrates

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that the dynamics of action potential generation in neurons in vertebrates, in contrast to invertebrates, is significantly different from the slow exponential dynamics predicted by the Hodgkin–Huxley equations and is characterized by a sudden kink-like origin in the form of a steep linear increase. In this context, new and important aspects of studies of the links between the dynamics of action potential generation and the frequency coding abilities of neurons and neuronal networks have been found. This review addresses contemporary models describing the kink-type dynamics of action potential generation, including an alternative model of cooperative activation of potential-dependent sodium channels and the effects of the dynamics of action potential generation on the processing abilities of neural networks. The relevance of this direction comes from the fact that despite the rapid development of neuron simulation in recent years, generally accepted models of nerve cells cannot provide a realistic description of the complete dynamics of action potential generation in mammalian neurons or correct assessments of the ability of these cells to encode high-frequency signals. Contemporary experimental and theoretical analyses of action potential generation and neuronal encoding, as summarized in the present work, are highly significant for improving our understanding of nerve cell physiology and assisting the creation of more accurate and correct models of neurons.