Suitable concentrations of ethyl alcohol (1 to 1.5 M) applied to a spot on a cell of Nitella lower the P.D. enough to cause action currents. The alcohol then suppresses action currents arriving from other parts of the cell and acts as a block. After the alcohol is removed the normal P.D. and irritability return.
Similar experiments on the sciatic nerve and skin of the frog produced only a negative result.
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Copyright, 1931, by The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
1931
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