Simulation of high-frequency sinusoidal electrical block of mammalian myelinated axons

Document Type

Article

Abstract

High frequency alternating current (HFAC) sinusoidal waveforms can block conduction in mammalian peripheral nerves. A mammalian axon model was used to simulate the response of nerves to HFAC conduction block. Sinusoidal waveforms from 1 to 40 kHz were delivered to eight simulated axon diameters ranging from 7.3 to 16 microm. Conduction block was obtained between 3 to 40 kHz. The minimum peak to peak current at which block was obtained, defined as the block threshold, increased with increasing frequency. Block threshold varied inversely with axon diameter. Upon initiation, the HFAC waveform produced one or more action potentials. These simulation results closely parallel previous experimental results of high frequency motor block of the rat sciatic and cat pudendal nerve. During HFAC block, the axons showed a dynamic steady state depolarization of multiple nodes, strongly suggesting a depolarization mechanism for HFAC conduction block.

Medical Subject Headings

Action Potentials (physiology); Animals; Axons (physiology); Cell Membrane (physiology); Chick Embryo; Computer Simulation; Electric Stimulation (adverse effects, methods); Humans; Mammals (physiology); Membrane Potentials (physiology); Nerve Block (instrumentation, methods); Nerve Fibers, Myelinated (physiology); Neural Conduction (physiology); Peripheral Nerves (physiology); Rats; Reaction Time (physiology); Time Factors

Publication Date

6-1-2007

Publication Title

Journal of computational neuroscience

ISSN

0929-5313

Volume

22

Issue

3

First Page

313

Last Page

26

PubMed ID

17200886

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1007/s10827-006-0015-5

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