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arXiv · 1706.01775

Anomalous frequency-dependent ionic conductivity of lesion-laden human-brain tissue

David Emin·Massoud Akhtari·Aria Fallah·Harry V. Vinters·Gary W. Mathern
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Abstract

We study the effect of lesions on our four-electrode measurements of the ionic conductivity of (1 cm3) samples of human brain excised from patients undergoing pediatric epilepsy surgery. For most (about 94 %) samples the low-frequency ionic conductivity rises upon increasing the applied frequency. We attributed this behavior to the long-range (0.4 mm) diffusion of solvated sodium cations before encountering impenetrable blockages such as cell membranes, blood vessels and cell walls. By contrast, the low-frequency ionic conductivity of some (6 %) brain tissue samples falls with increasing applied frequency. We attribute this unusual frequency-dependence to the electric-field induced liberation of sodium cations from traps introduced by the unusually severe pathology observed in samples from these patients. Thus, the anomalous frequency-dependence of the ionic conductivity indicates trap-producing brain lesions.

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David Emin, Massoud Akhtari, Aria Fallah, Harry V. Vinters, Gary W. Mathern. 2017-06-05. Anomalous frequency-dependent ionic conductivity of lesion-laden human-brain tissue. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4986358

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