Related papers: Similarities between action potentials and acousti…
In an ongoing debate on the physical nature of the action potential, one group adheres to the electrical model of Hodgkin and Huxley, while the other describes the action potential as a non-linear acoustic pulse propagating within an…
The existence and propagation of acoustic pressure pulses on lipid monolayers at the air/water-interfaces are directly observed by simple mechanical detection. The pulses are excited by small amounts of solvents added to the monolayer from…
Biological membranes by virtue of their elastic properties should be capable of propagating localized perturbations analogous to sound waves. However, the existence and the possible role of such waves in communication in biology remains…
We investigate different mechanical effects which accompany the nerve pulse propagation by using mathematical modeling. The propagation process is composed by three connected phenomena: (i) the action potential (electrical signal) which is…
Local changes in pH are known to significantly alter the state and activity of proteins and in particular enzymes. pH variations induced by pulses propagating along soft interfaces (e.g. the lipid bilayer) would therefore constitute an…
The existence of acoustic pulse propagation in lipid monolayers at the air-water interface is well known. These pulses are controlled by the thermodynamic state of the lipid membrane. Nevertheless, the role of acoustic pulses for intra- and…
Currently, biological signaling is envisaged as a combination of activation and movement, triggered by local molecular interactions and molecular diffusion, respectively. However, we here suggest, that other fundamental physical mechanisms…
The soliton wave model of action potentials, and the proposal of induced lipid pores, are potentially paradigm shifting ideas which challenge accepted views of the Hodgkin-Huxley model and of protein-based ion channels. These two proposals…
We suggest that the propagation of the action potential is driven by a pressure pulse propagating in the axoplasm along the axon length. The pressure pulse mechanically activates Na ion channels embedded in the axon membrane. This…
The thermodynamic (TD) properties of biological membranes play a central role for living systems. It has been suggested, for instance, that nonlinear pulses such as action potentials (APs) can only exist if the membrane state is in vicinity…
Comprehending the nature of action potentials is fundamental to our understanding of the functioning of nervous systems in general. Here we consider their evolution and describe their functions of communication, modulation and computation…
Biological signaling is imagined as a combination of activation and transport. The former is triggered by local molecular interactions and the latter is the result of molecular diffusion. However, other fundamental physical principles of…
Sound waves are excited on lipid monolayers using a set of planar electrodes aligned in parallel with the excitable medium. By measuring the frequency dependent change in the lateral pressure we are able to extract the sound velocity for…
It is suggested that the propagation of the action potential is accompanied by an axoplasmic pressure pulse propagating in the axoplasm along the axon length. The pressure pulse stretch-modulates voltage-gated Na (Nav) channels embedded in…
Many studies have shown that a mechanical displacement of the axonal membrane accompanies the electrical pulse defining the Action Potential (AP). Despite a large and diverse body of experimental evidence, there is no theoretical consensus…
Native membranes of biological cells display melting transitions of their lipids at a temperature of 10-20 degrees below body temperature. Such transitions can be observed in various bacterial cells, in nerves, in cancer cells, but also in…
Investigations of nerve activity have focused predominantly on electrical phenomena. Nerves, however, are thermodynamic systems, and changes in temperature and in the dimensions of the nerve can also be observed during the action potential.…
Hydrated interfaces are ubiquitous in biology and appear on all length scales from ions, individual molecules to membranes and cellular networks. In vivo, they comprise a high degree of self-organization and complex entanglement, which…
We demonstrate that our recently developed theory of electric field wave propagation in anisotropic and inhomogeneous brain tissues, which has been shown to explain a broad range of observed coherent synchronous brain electrical processes,…
The saltatory propagation of action potentials on myelinated axons is conventionally explained by the mechanism employing local circuit ionic current flows between nodes of Ranvier. Under this framework, the myelin sheath with up to 100…