#39 · Systems biology

Biophysical models link molecular changes to neuronal and brain-scale activity

The common thread is multiscale biophysical modeling that carries molecular-level variables up to neuronal or network function. In one preprint, computational models tie reduced ATP-derived Gibbs free energy during mental fatigue to weaker protein soliton stability and neuronal hyperexcitability. A perspective on mean-field models formalizes how synaptic receptor and ion channel changes propagate to large-scale brain activity. A third preprint works at the single-axon scale, showing in geometrically branched squid giant axons that an FDTD-coupled Maxwell-cable model yields conduction differences relative to quasi-static cable theory. The dominant thread is scale bridging. The distinctive new element in this set is explicit electromagnetic coupling in axon branch conduction, while the energetic and mean-field items are model-based accounts.