Neuroelectrodynamics

NeuroElectroDynamics or NED is the study of the dynamics and interaction of electrical charges in the brain. The word neuroelectrodynamics is derived from "neuro", meaning neurons, "electro", for electric field, and "dynamics", meaning movement.

The main idea of NED is that, under the influence of electric fields, charges that interact perform computations and are capable of reading, writing, and storing information in their spatial distribution at molecular level within active neurons. Physical laws, from classical mechanics and thermodynamics to quantum theory, can, according to this theory, be applied to generate a consistent mathematical model of brain computation. NED claims that temporal observables associated with neural coding (temporal coding, spike timing occurrence, spike-timing-dependent plasticity, and interspike interval) are epiphenomena determined by the dynamics and interaction of electric charges modulated by molecular changes in neurotransmitters levels, regulatory mechanisms of gene expression from DNA to protein synthesis.

NED highlights a specific form of computation-by-interaction which is proposed to be a general physical model of computation extensively present in nature. A spontaneous generation of action potentials and synaptic activities is needed to maintain physical interaction. During these events, the required information is exchanged between molecular structures (proteins), which store fragments of information, and the generated electric flux, which carries and integrates meaningful information in the brain.

History
Early work started with the electrophysiological observation that action potentials generated by the same neuron are not all alike; they display changes in electrical patterns, not just temporal variability.

Every recorded action potential can be characterized by a new measure, spike directivity, that describes electrical activity in a biological neuron. Significant changes in spike directivity are correlated with changes in behavior. Since information is carried by action potentials, then their dynamics and interaction are proposed to give rise to complex computational processes in the brain.