Unexpected Behavior of Streaming Potential in Ion-Exchange Membranes.

Streaming potential is one of the numerous electrokinetic phenomena created when an electrolyte flows along a charged surface. In membranes, applying the charged cylindrical pore model, streaming potential can be used to estimate, e.g.

Synchronization of Bioelectric Oscillations in Networks of Nonexcitable Cells: From Single-Cell to Multicellular States.

Biological networks use collective oscillations for information processing tasks. In particular, oscillatory membrane potentials have been observed in nonexcitable cells and bacterial communities where specific ion channel proteins contribute to the bioelectric coordination of large populations. We aim at describing theoretically the oscillatory spatiotemporal patterns that emerge at the multicellular level from the single-cell bioelectric dynamics.

Electrical coupling in ensembles of nonexcitable cells: modeling the spatial map of single cell potentials.

We analyze the coupling of model nonexcitable (non-neural) cells assuming that the cell membrane potential is the basic individual property. We obtain this potential on the basis of the inward and outward rectifying voltage-gated channels characteristic of cell membranes. We concentrate on the electrical coupling of a cell ensemble rather than on the biochemical and mechanical characteristics of the individual cells, obtain the map of single cell potentials using simple assumptions, and suggest procedures to collectively modify this spatial map.