Unmyelinated Aplysia Nerves Exhibit a Nonmonotonic Blocking Response to High-Frequency Stimulation

The application of high-frequency alternating current (HFAC) stimulation to reversibly block conduction in peripheral nerves has been under investigation for decades. Computational studies have produced ambiguous results since they have been based on axon models that are perhaps not valid for the ne...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering 2009-12, Vol.17 (6), p.537-544
Main Authors: Joseph, Laveeta, Butera, Robert J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action potential
Action Potentials - physiology
Animals
Aplysia - physiology
Aplysia californica
Biomedical engineering
Blocking
Circuits
Computational modeling
Computer simulation
Electric Stimulation - methods
Electrodes
Extracellular
extracellular recording
Frequency
Laboratories
Mathematical models
Nerve Block - methods
Nerve fibers
Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated - physiology
Nerves
Neural Conduction - physiology
Neural engineering
Neural Inhibition - physiology
peripheral nerves
Rehabilitation
Stimulation
Studies
suction electrode
Testing
Wave propagation
Waveforms
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Summary:The application of high-frequency alternating current (HFAC) stimulation to reversibly block conduction in peripheral nerves has been under investigation for decades. Computational studies have produced ambiguous results since they have been based on axon models that are perhaps not valid for the nerves in which the phenomenon has been demonstrated. Though simulations based on the Hodgkin-Huxley unmyelinated nerve cable model have been used to understand the phenomena, the isolated response of an unmyelinated nerve to HFAC waveforms has not been experimentally investigated. To understand the effect of HFAC waveforms in homogenous nerves, experiments were conducted on purely unmyelinated nerves of the sea-slug Aplysia californica. Sinusoidal waveforms in the range of 5-50 kHz were used to block the propagation of action potentials through the nerves. The time for complete recovery from block was found to be dependent on the duration of application of the HFAC waveform but was independent of the frequency of the waveform tested. Unlike data from simulations and experiments on myelinated nerves, the minimum HFAC amplitude for blocking conduction in these unmyelinated nerves exhibited a unique nonmonotonic relationship with frequency, which may be advantageous in various neurophysiological applications.
ISSN:1534-4320
1558-0210
DOI:10.1109/TNSRE.2009.2029490