On Sep 3, 9:00 pm, r norman <r_s_nor... from comcast.net> wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 16:18:27 -0700 (PDT), "pennsylvaniaj... from gmail.com"
>>>> <pennsylvaniaj... from gmail.com> wrote:
> >On Sep 3, 1:09 pm, r norman <r_s_nor... from comcast.net> wrote:
> >> On Fri, 3 Sep 2010 09:39:47 -0700 (PDT), "pennsylvaniaj... from gmail.com"
>> >> <pennsylvaniaj... from gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >What equation is used to find the membrane voltage in a neuron?
>> >> >eq1. membrane voltage = membrane current x specific membrane
> >> >resistance x (1 - Exp ^ (-time/tau).
>> >> >eq2. membrane voltage = (1/capacitance) x (current x voltage/
> >> >resistance)
>> >> >eq1 from "The Neuron cell and Molecular Biology" I.B. Levitan & L.K>
> >> >Kaczmarek, 3rd ed.
> >> >eq2 from Principles of Neural Science", Kandel, Schwartz, Jessell, 4th
> >> >ed
>> >> >They both are talking about the patch clamp technique.
>> >> Thumbing through Kandel et al. 4th ed. chapters 7. 8, and 9 I can't
> >> find anything at all like your eq. 2. That is a good thing because
> >> your eq. 2 doesn't make any sense at all and would never appear in
> >> that or any other text.
>> >> The simple fact of physics is that membrane current is capacitative
> >> current plus ionic current. Writing out the equations for those two
> >> current components in terms of voltage you get
>> >> Im = C dVm/dt + Vm/Rm
> >> where Im is total membrane current,
> >> Vm is membrane potential
> >> Rm is membrane resistance.
>> >> If you know Im, then Vm is the solution to this differential equation.
>> >> Under voltage clamp conditions when Vm is constant, then dVm/dt is
> >> zero so Im = Vm/Rm or Vm = Im Rm, which is something similar to your
> >> Eq. 1 without the exponential stuff.
>> >> If you are NOT in voltage clamp and pass a rectangular current pulse
> >> through the membrane, the voltage will vary as the solution to the
> >> differential equation and you get your Eq. 1 including the exponential
> >> stuff. This has nothing whatsoever to do with patch clamp.
>> >> I can't imagine where you got Eq. 2. Could you provide a page number?
>> >Sorry for the error. I made several errors, one being the
> >reference. I was solving the equation: current - voltage/resistance =
> >Capacitance times dv/dt using a Mathematica. It came about using the
> >book "Biophsics of Computation by C. Koch, 1999. See fig. 1.3 on page
> >11. The result that I got from the program came from a newsgroup,
> >from 5/7/2005. When I was reading more about this I ran into the the
> >other equation, and that made me question from way back in 2005.
> >Sorry for the error.
>> >Thanks for you help and patience.
>> Not at all. I taught this stuff for years and years (before my
> retirement) and know all the pitfalls students fall into.
>> Please ask away. That is what this news group is supposed to be for!
I appreciate your offer and will take you up on it.
I taught Mechanical Engineering for many years, and before that worked
in medical research. My work life as an engineer started back in 73.
I used a slide rule when I went through school in PA. I started to
study Neural Networks back in 87, and wrote programs for DOD. My life
more or less came to an end in 92 when I became severely disabled.
I was never happy when every one said that neural networks are the
perfect model to show how the mind works. So I started on my own to
learn Neuroscience in hopes of building a mathematical model of a
single neuron. This has turned out to be a major chalange. I am in
the process of writing a text book "The Neuron and the math behind
it". I hope the book will help those in the medical field better
understand how drugs affect the mind, especially with kids with mental
problems.
I get really stuck at times. One due to my health and the other, I am
stuck at home all the time. I really miss talking to fellow facility
members about my ideas and so on and going to a library too look up
materials that I need. My wife just picked up at the library "Patch
Clamping Techniques" by Areles Molleman. I have been trying to go by
the papers from H and H from 52. I cant afford journals to keep up,
even with some thing like this, so finding this book was like
discovering gold.
Any way, I just wanted you to know more about me, since I will be
asking many more "stupid" questions. I apologize in advance for what
errors that I make. Some times my health and the drugs cause my brain
to go south.
If you happen to know of any good sites to help me, I would appreciate
them.
Thanks once again.
Jake
