Background Stochastic processes leading voltage-gated ion channel dynamics on the nerve cell membrane are a su cient condition to describe membrane conductance through statistical mechanics of disordered and complex systems.
Results Voltage-gated ion channels in the nerve cell membrane are described by the Ising model. Stochastic circuital elements called ”Ising machines” are introduced. Action potentials are described as quasi-particles of a statistical field theory for the Ising system.
Conclusions The corpuscolar description of action potentials is a new powerful tool to describe the generation and propagation of nerve impulses, especially when conventional electrophysiological models break down. It allows us to develop new hardware and software devices based on particle physics to study neurodegenerative and demyelinating diseases (Multiple Sclerosis), even integrated by connectomes. It is also suitable for the study of complex networks, cryptography, machine learning, quantum computing and many other applications of medical, physical and engineering interest.