The BioQUEST Collection Candidates


	Axon
	Robert Macey (University of California - Berkeley), and John N. Calley (University of Arizona)
Screen Shots \| System Requirements

Axon is a simulation of the classic Hodgkin-Huxley (1952) model for axon excitation formulated from their voltage clamp measurements upon the squid axon. It provides you with a simulated excised peripheral nerve from a squid and allows you to perform experiments by setting the environment of the axon, applying stimuli or clamps, and generating one or more action potentials. Using the tools in Axon, you can create experiments which explore a variety of nerve properties, such as threshold, refractory period, accommodation, and summation.

Axon also has a problem editing utility that allows you to customize a problem to meet your specific needs. You can edit an existing problem or create an entirely new one. Using this utility you can change the characteristics of the experiment parameters to simulate a particular model, create simple or complex problems by hiding/showing parameters, and customize the appearance of the data table and the Summary Window.

Screen Shots

Associated with each Axon experiment is an Experiment Summary window, shown above. The figure above illustrates the Summary Window for a problem which was created with everything enabled. Using the tools in this window you will set up the experiment parameters, run one or more experimental trials, and display the results.

The figure above shows the Experiment Summary window after three runs with different stimulus durations. The current trial (Trial 3) is drawn in black. The Membrane Cartoon, drawn under the data table, represents a cross-section of the cell wall of the axon, showing the outside of the cell, the inside of the cell, and the axon plasma membrane.

System Requirements

Macintosh

System 6.07 or later; System 7.1 or later for Power Macintosh.
At least 800K of available RAM, more for complex simulations.

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