Impulse propagation at the septal and commissural junctions of crayfish lateral giant axons. 1961

A WATANABE, and H GRUNDFEST

Transmission across the septal junctions of the segmented giant axons of crayfish is accounted for quantitatively by a simple equivalent circuit. The septal membranes are passive, resistive components and transmission is ephaptic, by the electrotonic spread of the action current of the pre-septal spike. The electrotonic spread appears as a septal potential, considerably smaller than the pre-septal spike, but usually still large enough to initiate a new spike in the post-septal segments. The septal membranes do not exhibit rectification, at least over a range of +/- 25 mv polarization and this accounts for their capacity for bidirectional transmission. The commissural branches, which are put forth by each lateral axon, make functional connections between the two axons. Transmission across these junctions can also be bidirectional and is probably also ephaptic. Under various conditions, the ladder-like network of cross-connections formed by the commissural junctions can give rise to circus propagation of impulses from one axon to the other. This can give rise to reverberatory activity of both axons at frequencies as high as 400/sec.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009474 Neurons The basic cellular units of nervous tissue. Each neuron consists of a body, an axon, and dendrites. Their purpose is to receive, conduct, and transmit impulses in the NERVOUS SYSTEM. Nerve Cells,Cell, Nerve,Cells, Nerve,Nerve Cell,Neuron
D003400 Astacoidea A superfamily of various freshwater CRUSTACEA, in the infraorder Astacidea, comprising the crayfish. Common genera include Astacus and Procambarus. Crayfish resemble lobsters, but are usually much smaller. Astacus,Crayfish,Procambarus,Astacoideas,Crayfishs
D003445 Crustacea A large subphylum of mostly marine ARTHROPODS containing over 42,000 species. They include familiar arthropods such as lobsters (NEPHROPIDAE), crabs (BRACHYURA), shrimp (PENAEIDAE), and barnacles (THORACICA). Ostracoda,Ostracods,Crustaceas,Ostracod,Ostracodas
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001369 Axons Nerve fibers that are capable of rapidly conducting impulses away from the neuron cell body. Axon

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