Initiation and blocking of the action potential in the axon in weak ultrasonic or microwave fields

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the effect of the redistribution of the transmembrane ion channels in the axon caused by longitudinal acoustic vibrations of the membrane. These oscillations can be excited by an external source of ultrasound and weak microwave radiation interacting with the charges sitting on the surface of the lipid membrane. It is shown, using the Hodgkin-Huxley model of the axon, that the density redistribution of transmembrane sodium channels may reduce the threshold of the action potential, up to its spontaneous initiation. At the significant redistribution of sodium channels in membrane, the rarefaction zones of the transmembrane channels density are formed, blocking the propagation of the action potential. Blocking the action potential propagation along the axon is shown to cause anestesia in the example case of a squid axon. Various approaches to experimental observation of the effects considered in this paper are discussed.