Cytoelectric coupling: Electric fields sculpt neural activity and “tune” the brain’s infrastructure
Dimitris A. Pinotsis, Gene Y. Fridman, Earl K. Miller
Abstract
We propose and present converging evidence for the Cytoelectric Coupling Hypothesis: Electric fields generated by neurons are causal down to the level of the cytoskeleton. This could be achieved via electrodiffusion and mechanotransduction and exchanges between electrical, potential and chemical energy. Ephaptic coupling organizes neural activity, forming neural ensembles at the macroscale level. This information propagates to the neuron level, affecting spiking, and down to molecular level to stabilize the cytoskeleton, "tuning" it to process information more efficiently.
Topics & Concepts
Coupling (piping)NeuroscienceBiological neural networkNeural activityProcess (computing)Artificial neural networkCytoskeletonNeuronComputer scienceBiological systemPhysicsChemistryBiologyMaterials scienceArtificial intelligenceCellBiochemistryMetallurgyOperating systemNeural dynamics and brain functionNeuroscience and Neural EngineeringPhotoreceptor and optogenetics research