Somata of pacemaker and nonpacemaker neurons were isolated by ligatures tied around the axons between the somata and the synaptic regions, and the transmembrane potentials of the isolated somata were recorded. Isolated somata of pacemaker neurons had a spontaneous discharge while isolated somata of nonpacemaker neurons were quiescent. In addition, the time course of accommodation in isolated somata of pacemaker and nonpacemaker neurons was found to be different. In pacemaker neurons, injection of current produced a change in rate of discharge sustained for the duration of current injection, while in nonpacemakers, current injection produced only a transient change in discharge rate. Evidence is presented that the pacemaker locus and spike trigger zone in the intact pacemaker neuron are located on the soma.
Article|
January 01 1968
Spontaneous Activity in Isolated Somata of Aplysia Pacemaker Neurons
Barbara O. Alving
Barbara O. Alving
From the Section on Spinal Cord, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
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Barbara O. Alving
From the Section on Spinal Cord, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014
Received:
October 21 1966
Online ISSN: 1540-7748
Print ISSN: 0022-1295
Copyright © 1968 by The Rockefeller University Press
1968
J Gen Physiol (1968) 51 (1): 29–45.
Article history
Received:
October 21 1966
Citation
Barbara O. Alving; Spontaneous Activity in Isolated Somata of Aplysia Pacemaker Neurons . J Gen Physiol 1 January 1968; 51 (1): 29–45. doi: https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.51.1.29
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