Abstract
SINGLE-CELL pacemaker activity is interesting because of its function in temporal organization and information processing in the nervous system. Many invertebrate neurones are regularly and autonomously active1,2. Although the pacemaker rhythm probably originates within the recorded neurone, it is not clear whether it originates in the axonal tree or in the cell soma. Alving3 approached this question by studying pacemaker activity in the soma of Aplysia nerve cells, after ligaturing the axonal stem with fine sutures. The study described here presents evidence that nerve cell somata which are completely dissociated from all surrounding tissue and with or without axons, are able to maintain regular autorhythmic activity for periods of more than 24 h. The method of complete isolation of cells represents some progress over Alving's method because it is easier to accomplish, has a larger yield of viable neurones, and allows longer recording periods.
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References
Bullock, T. H., and Horridge, G. A., Structure and Function in the Nervous Systems of Invertebrates (Freeman, San Francisco, 1965).
Tauc, L., in Physiology of Mollusca, 2 (edit. by Wilbur, K. M., and Yonge, C. M.), 387 (Academic Press, New York, 1966).
Alving, B. O., J. Gen. Physiol., 51, 29 (1968).
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Terzuolo, C. A., and Bullock, T. H., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 42, 687 (1956).
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CHEN, C., VON BAUMGARTEN, R. & TAKEDA, R. Pacemaker Properties of Completely Isolated Neurones in Aplysia californica. Nature New Biology 233, 27–29 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio233027a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio233027a0
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