Neural dynamics during anoxia and the "wave of death"
Recent experiments in rats have shown the occurrence of a high amplitude slow brain wave in the EEG approximately 1 minute after decapitation, with a duration of 5-15 s (van Rijn et al, PLoS One 6, e16514, 2011) that was presumed to signify the death of brain neurons. We present a computational mode...
Saved in:
Published in | PloS one Vol. 6; no. 7; p. e22127 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Public Library of Science
13.07.2011
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | Recent experiments in rats have shown the occurrence of a high amplitude slow brain wave in the EEG approximately 1 minute after decapitation, with a duration of 5-15 s (van Rijn et al, PLoS One 6, e16514, 2011) that was presumed to signify the death of brain neurons. We present a computational model of a single neuron and its intra- and extracellular ion concentrations, which shows the physiological mechanism for this observation. The wave is caused by membrane potential oscillations, that occur after the cessation of activity of the sodium-potassium pumps has lead to an excess of extracellular potassium. These oscillations can be described by the Hodgkin-Huxley equations for the sodium and potassium channels, and result in a sudden change in mean membrane voltage. In combination with a high-pass filter, this sudden depolarization leads to a wave in the EEG. We discuss that this process is not necessarily irreversible. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Conceived and designed the experiments: BJZ MJAMvP BtH. Performed the experiments: BJZ. Analyzed the data: BJZ. Wrote the paper: BJZ BtH JGvD MJAMvP. Interpretation of the data: BJZ BtH JGvD MJAMvP. |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 1932-6203 |
DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0022127 |