Extracellular potentials and currents of a single active fiber in a restricted volume conductor.

Based on mathematical expressions governing the electric field, the extracellular potentials generated by a single active fiber in a restricted circular cylindrical volume conductor are evaluated. This paper examines the effect of the extent of the volume conductor, with radius b, on the extracellular potentials at different field points. For values of b less than 1.5 times the fiber radius, the extracellular potentials in the volume conductor are always the core conductor potentials, independent of the shape and amplitude of the transmembrane potential. For b greater than a critical radius (a value that depends on the transmembrane potential waveform), the extracellular potentials at and near the membrane are the same as if the volume conductor were unbounded. Near the boundary with the insulator, the amplitude of the extracellular potentials is equal to the core conductor amplitude, although the potentials are much broader than the core conductor potential.