BME 4900 Final Report - Biomedical Engineering - University of ...

BME 4900 FINAL REPORT 3Team 8with a modified sodium channel equation to achieve a firing rate of about 1000 Hz. TheEBN model also differs from the original model in that it does not require a currentimpulse for a stimulus, but rather a release from inhibition. This model demonstratedthe possibilities of modifying a previous empirical neuron model to simulate any kind ofneuron.In 2006, Dr. Lance Optican described a model of the complete networkcontrolling saccades in Miura and Optican (2006). This work took a different approach,in that it included several more membrane channels, and a different, biochemicallybased scheme for excitation and inhibition of neurons, as opposed to viewing thesesignals as current pulses.The EBN portion of the model sacrificed simplicity forphysiological realism.However, the realism has not been verified by physiologicalexperimentation. The connections between parts of the neural network also differ fromthat proposed by Enderle and Zhou.Recently, Zhou had started a model of the complete saccadic neural networkusing SIMULINK, a simulation tool provided in the MathWorks’ MATLAB suite, and theC++ programming language to ensure a reasonably fast simulation.This model iscreated after Enderle’s vision of the neural network from Enderle and Zhou (2010) andwill serve as the basis for the proposed device. However, the device will use the simplerFitzHugh-Nagumo model for modeling individual neurons.Land (2011) lists several important circuit models of neurons. The model mostimportant to the design of this device is the FitzHugh-Nagumo model, which provides asimplified model of the action potential adapted from Hodgkin and Huxley. A method ofmodeling the synapse is also provided, which can be modified as necessary. Finally,there is an important model that describes the propagation of a pulse in an axon.