A model for the generation of nerve pulse based on Pollack effect

The following view of what might happen in the generation of nerve pulse is only one of the many variants that I have imagined during years and can be only defended as the simplest one found hitherto. In this model Pollack effect for water plays a key role and Hodgkin-Huxley model would be simply wrong. Ionic currents would not cause the nerve pulse but would be caused by it.

Background observations

Let us consider the following assumptions.

1. The fact that the sign of the membrane potential changes sign temporarily but preserves its magnitude, suggests that the charge densities associated with the interior and exterior are changed so that the voltage changes the sign. There are many ways to achieve this and one should identify the simplest mechanism.
2. Hodgkin-Huxley model for nerve pulse involves dissipation. Nerve pulse could be generated as the failure of gravitational quantum coherence. This could also make possible Ohmic currents between axonal interior (AI) and axonal exterior (NE) but this, and even the loss of quantum gravitational coherence, might not be necessary. This is mildly suggested by the model of nerve pulse based on Josephson junction in which the pulse corresponds to a temporary change of the direction of rotation for the analogs of gravitational penduli.
3. In the Hodgkin-Huxley model the notions of channels and pumps are of course central for the recent biology. There are however puzzling observations challenging these notions and suggesting that the currents between cell interior and exterior have quantum nature and are universal in the sense that they do not depend on the cell membrane at all. One of the pioneers in the field has been Gilbert Ling, who has devoted for more than three decades to the problem, developed ingenious experiments, and written several books about the topic. The introduction of the book “Gells and cells” of Gerald Pollack gives an excellent layman summary about the paradoxical experimental results. I have discussed these findings also from the TGD point of view (see this).
4. In the TGD framework Pollack effect (PE) could induce the membrane potential and PE and its reversal (RPE) could be important. In the model to be discussed this is the case and the model differs dramatically from the Hodgkin-Huxley model in that ionic currents do not cause the nerve pulse but is caused by it.

The model of nerve pulse based on Pollack effect and its reversal

The simplest model for the generation of the nerve pulse is based on PE and RPE. In the following I will talk about neuronal interior (NI) and neuronal exterior (NE).

1. Sol-gel phase transition is known to accompany nerve pulse. This suggests that PE and RPE are involved. PE transforms gel phase to sol phase and generates a negatively charged exclusion zone (EZ).

The TGD based model for PE involves the transformation of protons of water molecules to dark protons at the MB of the system with a large size so that the region of water becomes negatively charged EZ and transforms to a gel phase generating a potential. Since the flux tubes of gravitational MB have much larger size than the system, the protons/ions are effectively lost from the system.

This corresponds to a polarization but not in the usual sense. Rather, the ends of the dipole correspond to EZ and MB. The charge separation is not between NI and NE but between NI (NE) and its MB.

See the article For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

For the lists of articles (most of them published in journals founded by Huping Hu) and books about TGD see this.