Cable Theory: Overview

Detailed Description

Cable theory has a prominent place in neuroscience as it forms the basis of models of single neurons, axons, and dendrites and has led to an understanding of intraneuronal signaling. Starting with the conceptual model of a patch of membrane as an electric circuit, application of basic principles from physics leads to a mathematical equation, the cable equation. We start this section with an article on the cable equation, discussing the history of the cable equation in neuroscience, showing the derivation of the cable equation, providing solutions for the infinite cylinder, steady-state solutions for semi-infinite and finite cables and branched dendritic trees and transient solutions, concluding with a discussion of insights from cable theory. Several parameters play key roles in intraneuronal signaling including membrane capacitance, axial resistivity, the space (length) constant, and the time constant, and there are articles on each of these topics. From there we...