title: The Duffing oscillator: a model for the dynamics of the neuronal groups comprising the transient evoked potential.
abstract: Thirty years ago Zeeman conjectured that the dynamics of the EEG might be modeled by the "equation of motion" of a Duffing oscillator, a pendulum with a nonlinear, cubic, restoring force. In this study the idea is extended to the evoked potential (EP). A transient sensory EP reflects activity from several neuronal groups, pools of neurons that fire in synchrony, with voltage-time curves that overlap appreciably. When the dynamics of each neuronal group is modeled by a Duffing oscillator, multi-electrode transient VEPs are well predicted. Predictions based on Duffing oscillator dynamics are substantially better than those based on the assumption that each neuronal group follows a simpler exponentially damped sinusoid or a function that simulates a post-synaptic potential. The component voltage-time curves are reasonably consistent over 7 subjects, suggesting sequential activation of neuronal groups with delays of several tens of milliseconds between them. The scalp topographies of the components suggest their origins in the occipital cortex.
mesh_terms: D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors