Simulating Influence of Channel Kinetics and Temperature on Hodgkin-Huxley Threshold Dynamics

Abstract

Information processing in the brain results from the spread and interaction of electrical and chemical signals among neurons. The Hodgkin-Huxley model, describes the spiking and refractory properties of real neurons and serves as a paradigm based on nonlinear conductance of ion channels. Activation of various ion channels establish the spiking behavior of a neuron which determines the communication and coding in nervous system. Firing rates, timing of spikes, and spiking threshold properties are major firing properties of neuronal sparking activities. The temperature influence on neuron spiking threshold regulates the neuronal activities as electrophysiological experiments on neural spiking actions are rarely conducted outside of room temperature in vitro or body temperature in vivo. Temperature changes affect the spiking dynamics of excitable neurons via maximum ion channel conductances and ion channel gating kinetics. The latter has a major impact on changing the shape and amplitude of action potential as well as the generation and propagation of spikes. The purpose of this research is to study, simulate and analyze how the temperature change influence spiking properties of a neuron, channel kinetics as well as activation and inactivation variables of the potassium and sodium channels which determine the dynamics of Hodgkin-Huxley model.