Filaments and four ordered structures inside a neuron fire a thousand times faster than the membrane: theory and experiment
Pushpendra Singh, Pathik Sahoo, Subrata Ghosh, Komal Saxena, Jhimli Sarkar Manna, Kanad Ray, Soami Daya Krishnananda, Roman R. Poznański, Anirban Bandyopadhyay
Abstract
The current action potential paradigm considers that all components beneath the neuron membrane are inconsequential. Filamentary communication is less known to the ionic signal transmission; recently, we have proposed that the two are intimately linked through time domains. We modified the atom probe-connected dielectric resonance scanner to operate in two-time domains, milliseconds and microseconds simultaneously for the first time. We resonate the ions for imaging rather than neutralizing them as patch clamps do; resonant transmission images the ion flow 103 times faster than the existing methods. We revisited action potential-related events by scanning in and around the axon initial segment (AIS). Four ordered structures in the cytoskeletal filaments exchange energy ~250 μs before a neuron fires, editing spike-time-gap-key to the brain's cognition. We could stop firing above a threshold or initiate a fire by wirelessly pumping electromagnetic signals. We theoretically built AIS, whose simulated electromagnetic energy exchange matched the experiment. Thus far, the scanner could detect & link uncorrelated biological events unfolding over 106 orders in the time scale simultaneously. Our experimental findings support a new dielectric resonator model of neuron functioning in various time domains, thus suggesting the dynamic anatomy of electrical activity as information-rich.