Abstract
IN extension of the “sodium theory” of nerve impulse production1, a number of authors have described excitable membranes in which normal inward action currents are carried chiefly by calcium ions in crustacean muscles2–6 and amphibian heart tissue7. It has been suggested that some gastropod giant neurones have “calcium spikes”8,9. Oomura et al.8 showed that supra-oesophageal ganglion cells in Onchidium continue to produce spikes in media free from sodium or calcium, but become inexcitable if both sodium and calcium ions are removed from the perfusing solution. This behaviour is also seen in Aplysia giant neurones and, together with the quantitative effects of varying external ion concentrations, suggests that both sodium and calcium act as carriers of current during the normal action potential.
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JUNGE, D. Multi-ionic Action Potentials in Molluscan Giant Neurones. Nature 215, 546–548 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/215546a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/215546a0
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