The mechanism by which action potentials (APs) are generated in afferent nerve fibers in the carotid body is unknown, but it is generally speculated to be release of an excitatory transmitter and synaptic depolarizing events. However, previous results suggested that Na+ channels in the afferent nerve fibers play an important role in this process. To better understand the potential mechanism by which Na+ channels may generate APs, a mathematical model of chemoreceptor nerve fibers that incorporated Hodgkin-Huxley-type Na+ channels with kinetics of activation and inactivation, as determined previously from recordings of petrosal chemoreceptor neurons, was constructed. While the density of Na+ channels was kept constant, spontaneous APs arose in nerve terminals as the axonal diameter was reduced to that in rat carotid body. AP excitability and pattern were similar to those observed in chemoreceptor recordings: 1) a random pattern at low- and high-frequency discharge rates, 2) a high sensitivity to reductions in extracellular Na+ concentration, and 3) a variation in excitability that increased with AP generation rate. Taken together, the results suggest that an endogenous process in chemoreceptor nerve terminals may underlie AP generation, a process independent of synaptic depolarizing events.
