2012/10/08 by Jiongwei Xue, Xue, Jiongwei, Shengyong Xu +1
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Materials Science · Neuroscience · Physics and Astronomy · #Biological Physics (physics.bio-ph) #Carbon Nanotubes in Composites #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Neuroscience and Neural Engineering #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft #physics.bio-ph #q-bio.NC
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1210.2140
24 pages, 7 figures
arxiv created 2012/10/08 · openalex publication_date 2012/10/08 · arxiv updated 2012/10/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
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 layers of membrane only serves as the insulating shell. The speed of action potentials is measured to be as fast as 100 m/s on myelinated axons, but ions move in fluids at just 100 nm/s in a 1 V/m electric field. We show here the action potentials, in the form of electromagnetic (EM) pulses, can propagate in natural EM waveguide structures formed by the myelin sheath merged in fluids. The propagation time is mainly cost on the duration for triggering EM pulses at nodes of Ranvier. The result clearly reveals the evolution of axons from the unmyelinated to the myelinated, which has remarkably enhanced the propagation efficiency by increasing the thickness of myelin sheath.