A simple nonlinear model of electrical activity in the intestine
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 16, 2026

Two-dimensional Porcine Intestinal Organoids Reflecting the Physiological Properties of Native Gut
Published on: January 31, 2025
R R Aliev1, W Richards, J P Wikswo
1Department of Physics & Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. rubin@parovoz.phy.vanderbilt.edu
Abstract:
We have simulated electrical activity of the intestine in a computer model that describes the coupled layers of longitudinal muscle (LM) and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). The model suggests that pacemaker activity is due to the ICC layer, while the pulse propagation involves the LM layer that is in the excitatory state. The model describes well the experimentally observed phenomena: frequency change along the intestine, synchronization along short distances and desynchronization for long distances, and the decrease of propagation distance and propagation time along the intestine. We have observed the occurrence of phase interruptions or breaks, which are responsible for the limited values of propagation distance and time.
Related Concept Videos
Design Example: Frog Muscle Response
When the switch connecting the RL circuit is closed, a brief muscle contraction is observed. This is because, at a steady state, the inductor acts like a short circuit,...
Enteric Nervous System: Regulation of GI Motor Activity
During periods of fasting, the ENS initiates the migrating myoelectric complex, a program...
Electrical Synapses
Gap junctions allow the current to pass directly from one cell to the next. In contrast, in the chemical synapse, the neurotransmitters carry the information through the synaptic cleft from one neuron to the next. They consist of two...
Linear Approximation in Frequency Domain
In contrast, nonlinear systems do not inherently possess these properties. However, for small deviations around an operating point, a nonlinear system can often be approximated as linear.
Bode Plots Construction
Renewal of Intestinal Stem Cells

