Abstract
Two optical techniques—light scattering and birefringence—have been used to detect rapid structural changes accompanying the action potentials in two types of non-myelinated nerve fibre. Changes in light scattering originate from at least two different phenomena, while a large part of the birefringence change seems to be directly dependent on the potential difference across the axon membrane, and arises in radially oriented molecules associated with the membrane.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hodgkin, A. L., The Conduction of the Nervous Impulse (Liverpool University Press, 1964).
Hill, D. K., and Keynes, R. D., J. Physiol., 108, 278 (1949).
Hill, D. K., J. Physiol., 111, 283 (1950).
Tobias, J. M., Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol., 17, 15 (1952).
Bryant, S. J., and Tobias, J. M., J. Cell. Comp. Physiol., 40, 199 (1952).
Schmitt, F. O., and Schmitt, O. H., Physiol., 98, 26 (1940).
Cohen, L. B., and Keynes, R. D., J. Physiol., 194, 85P (1968).
Sandlin, R., Lerman, L., Barry, W., and Tasaki, I., Nature, 217, 575 (1968).
Kayushin, L. P., and Lyudkovskaya, R. G., Dokl. Akad. Nauk. USSR, 102, 727 (1955).
Hodgkin, A. L., and Katz, B., J. Physiol., 108, 37 (1949).
Hill, D. K., J. Physiol., 111, 304 (1950).
Komissarchik, jun., Ja., Levin, S. V., and Sviridov, B. E., Elekt. Mikrosk. Met. Zhiv., 119 (1966).
Lyudkovskaya, R. G., Emeljanov, V. B., and Lemazhikhin, B. K., Tsitologiya, 7, 520 (1965).
Schmitt, F. O., and Bear, R. S., Biol. Rev., 14, 27 (1939).
Baker, P. F., Hodgkin, A. L., and Shaw, T. I., J. Physiol., 164, 330 (1962).
Hodgkin, A. L., Huxley, A. F., and Katz, B., J. Physiol., 116, 424 (1952).
Moore, J. W., Narahashi, T., and Shaw, T. I., J. Physiol., 188, 99 (1967).
Schmitt, F. O., and Bear, R. S., J. Cell. Comp. Physiol., 9, 261 (1937).
Mitchison, J. M., J. Exp. Biol., 30, 397 (1953).
Beams, J. W., Rev. Modern Phys., 4, 133 (1932).
Le Fèvre, C. G., and Le Fèvre, R. J. W., in Technique of Organic Chemistry (edit. by Weissberger, A.), Vol. I, Part 3, Chap. 36 (Interscience, 1960).
International Critical Tables, 7, 109 (McGraw-Hill, 1930).
Tinoco, jun., I., J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 77, 3476, 4486 (1955).
Howarth, J. V., Keynes, R. D., and Ritchie, J. M., J. Physiol., 194, 745 (1968).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
COHEN, L., KEYNES, R. & HILLE, B. Light Scattering and Birefringence Changes during Nerve Activity. Nature 218, 438–441 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/218438a0
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/218438a0
This article is cited by
-
Dopamine-induced neural activity detection onto a cell-cultured plasmonic nanograting platform
Applied Physics A (2023)
-
Streptozotocin-induced Alzheimer's disease investigation by one-dimensional plasmonic grating chip
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Ultrafast and hypersensitive phase imaging of propagating internodal current flows in myelinated axons and electromagnetic pulses in dielectrics
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Spatio-temporal parameters for optical probing of neuronal activity
Biophysical Reviews (2021)
-
Detection of cellular micromotion by advanced signal processing
Scientific Reports (2020)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.