_Librascope Group, General Precision, Inc.
Research and Systems Center
Glendale, California_
The measurements of Hodgkin and Huxley were aimed at
revealing the mechanism of generation and propagation
of the all-or-none spike. Their results led to the
Modern Ionic Hypothesis. Since the publication of
their papers in 1952, advanced techniques with
microelectrodes have led to the discovery of many
modes of subthreshold activity not only in the axon
but also in the somata and dendrites of neurons. This
activity includes synaptic potentials, local response
potentials, and pacemaker potentials.
We considered the question, “Can this activity also
be explained in terms of the Hodgkin-Huxley Model?”
To seek an answer, we have constructed an electronic
analog based on the ionic hypothesis and designed
around the data of Hodgkin and Huxley. Synaptic
inputs were simulated by simple first-order or
second-order networks connected directly to simulated
conductances (potassium or sodium). The analog has,
with slight parameter adjustments, produced all modes
of threshold and subthreshold activity.