Simulation of electric potential in 3D neuronal axon

Abstract

The simulation of extracellular fields is a fundamental method in computational neuroscience. One of the most important factors for the extracellular field understanding is the action potential propagation in axons. The FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) equations are used to model and simulate the propagation of action potential in a single axon in Comsol Multiphysics 5.2®. The model is validated against a reference model and the electric potential propagation is observed by `freezing' the simulation at three different times. The paper discusses and makes new observations on the effect of FHN model parameters α, ε, β, γ and δ on the propagation of action potential along the axon.