Transmission of blocked electric pulses in a cable neuron model by using an electric field.

Signal propagation can be blocked when the axon is injured or ion channels are blocked by certain drug, and thus signal communication between neurons can be interrupted. It is found that defects could be induced in the injured area of the axon, and the local heterogeneity can emit continuous pulses or wave fronts. In this paper, a weak electric field is imposed on the neuron to suppress the blocking of the defects on signal propagation. It is found that appropriate electric field can help signal propagate along the axon even the electric field is imposed on a local area. Its potential mechanism could be that the local electric field can suppress the wave emitting from the defects and thus the injured area can be bridged to transmit the blocked signals by adding gradient forcing along the axon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]