A biophysical model of heat sensitivity in nociceptive C-fiber neurons

The ability to detect noxious stimuli and evoke a defensive response is made possible by specialized peripheral sensory neurons called nociceptors that respond to stimuli such as extreme temperature, pressure and injury. A number of experimental studies have been done on nociceptors at various range of temperatures in order to understand the underlying biophysical mechanisms. Simple models for describing temperature sensitivity are available, such as the Hodgkin and Huxley model for squid giant axon. However, to our knowledge there are no existing models for temperature sensitive nociceptive C-fiber DRG neurons with multiple ion channels that have also been validated against experimental findings for different temperatures. Here, we report a biophysical model for temperature dependence in nociceptors, more precisely for C-fibers. We validate the model using action potentials recorded at different temperatures. The resulting action potentials from the simulation show that the model satisfactorily replicates the key features of the experimentally obtained results paving the way for further studies.