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Hi !

I want to ask a confirmation question. If I change the diameter of the axon (reduce it 10 times) in a squid giant axon model, do I need to change the maximum ionic conductance (gNabar, gKbar) accordingly. I would assume not, since the units of maximum conductance are in S/cm2 and would be taken care of.

Mohit

Interesting question, and a good one for a qualifying exam. You're on the threshold of answering it for yourself, by intuition alone--but it's also easy to run a computational experiment to verify your intuition.

Hi !

Thanks for the reply. I just ran a quick and dirty simulation. It works for the standard HH model.

However, I am working with a model where I change the maximum conductances (to both Na and K ions) with temperature. However, as I keep reducing axon diameter, I start getting spontaneous activity.

Thanks,

Mohit

as I keep reducing axon diameter, I start getting spontaneous activity

Then changing diameter has the side-effect of changing something else. Are membrane properties uniform, and does the model involve ion accumulation (an NMODL-specified mechanism that WRITEs an ionic concentration)?