A DIGITAL-COMPUTER MODEL OF NERVE-CELL FUNCTIONING.
Abstract
A mathematical model of nerve-cell functioning is described. This model is embodied in digital-computer programs which simulate the behavior of nerve cells, their interconnecting fibers, and extrinsic sources of impulses. The simulation utilizes a continous time parameter. Investigations using this model have been conducted in close collaboration with experimental neurophysiologists. The physiological content of the model is discussed by tracing a nerve impulse as it is conducted along an axon, and as it occasions the release of a transmitter substance at a synapse, interacts with the transmembrane potential of the postsynaptic cell, undergoes spatial and temporal integration with other postsynaptic potentials, and possibly contributes to the firing of the cell, which undergoes absolute and relative refractory periods, and propagates an impulse along its own axon. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0602073
Entities
People
- Donald H. Perkel
Organizations
- RAND Corporation