Activating function

The activating function is a mathematical formalism that is used to approximate the influence of an extracellular field on an axon or neurons. It was developed by Frank Rattay and is a useful tool to approximate the influence of functional electrical stimulation (FES) or neuromodulation techniques on target neurons. It points out locations of high hyperpolarization and depolarization caused by the electrical field acting upon the nerve fiber. As a rule of thumb, the activating function is proportional to the second-order spatial derivative of the extracellular potential along the axon.

For the function that defines the output of a node in artificial neuronal networks according to the given input, see Activation function.
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