The classical cable function has been used to represent the response of peripheral nerves stimulated by external parallel electric field. It can not describe the excitation of peripheral nerves stimulated by perpendicular electric field. In this paper, responses of the nodes of Ranvier to transverse-field are deeply investigated by mathematic simulation and in-vitro experiments. The paper demonstrates that, under perpendicular electric field stimulation, the responses evoke a two-stage process including an initial polarization and the actual change of the transmembrane potential. It is the net inward current along a radial direction of the node of Ranvier that causes the peripheral nerve excitation. Based on the two-stage process, a novel model is introduced to describe peripheral nerves stimulated by transverse-field, and the classical cable function is modified. The new model and the improved cable function are verified by several in-vitro experiments. They can be used to represent peripheral nerves responses by arbitrary electric field stimulation.
Animals ; Bufo bufo ; Electric Conductivity ; Electric Stimulation ; Electromagnetic Fields ; Electrophysiology ; Membrane Potentials ; Models, Biological ; Nerve Fibers ; physiology ; Peripheral Nerves ; physiology ; Ranvier's Nodes ; physiology ; Sciatic Nerve ; physiology