Fractal-like correlations of the fluctuating inter-spike membrane potential of a Helix aspersa pacemaker neuron

• Published in: Computers in biology and medicine 2014-10, Vol.53, p.258-264
• Main Authors: Seseña-Rubfiaro, Alberto, Echeverría, Juan Carlos, Godínez-Fernández, Jose Rafael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Complex behavior; Computational Biology; Electrophysiology; Fractals; Helix (Snails) - cytology; Helix aspersa; Inter-spike-interval; Internal Medicine; Membrane potential modulation; Membrane Potentials - physiology; Models, Neurological; Neural dynamics; Neurons - physiology; Other; Pacemaker neuron; Self-organized criticality; Signal-To-Noise Ratio
• ISSN: 0010-4825; 1879-0534
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2014.08.012

Abstract We analyzed the voltage fluctuations of the membrane potential manifested along the inter-spike segment of a pacemaker neuron. Time series of intracellular inter-spike voltage fluctuations were obtained in the current-clamp configuration from the F1 neuron of 12 Helix aspersa specimens. To assess the dynamic or stochastic nature of the voltage fluctuations these series were analyzed by Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), providing the scaling exponent α . The median α result obtained for the inter-spike segments was 0.971 ([0.963, 0.995] lower and upper quartiles). Our results indicate a critical-like dynamic behavior in the inter-spike membrane potential that, far from being random, shows long-term correlations probably linked to the dynamics of the mechanisms involved in the regulation of the membrane potential, thereby endorsing the occurrence of critical-like phenomena at a single-neuron level.