Full Description
This volume on the processes of transformation of mechanical stimuli into electrical activity in various mechanoreceptors comprises the authors` investigations as well as relevant literature data. It deals mainly with initial electrical processes from stimulus of the mechanoreceptor to receptor potential. For the first time the connection between passive and active ion transport and the generation of electrical potentials is considered in detail. Furthermore, data on the properties and selectivity of different types of mechanosensitive ion channels, as well as results of morphological experiments on characteristics of the mechanosensitive membrane, and the changes during the activation of primary and secondary mechanoreceptors are discussed. This comprehensive overview is of interest to molecularbiologists, neuroscientists and biophysists.
Contents
1 Some Morphological and Physicochemical Pecularities of Receptive Structures and the Accessory Apparatus of Mechanoreceptors.- 1.1 An External Characteristic of the Mechanoreceptor Field.- 1.2 Intracellular Organization of the Mechanoreceptor Region.- 1.3 A Characteristic of the Medium Surrounding Mechanoreceptors.- 1.4 A Brief Conclusion.- 2 A General Characteristic of Mechanoreceptor Activity.- 2.1 Receptor and Generator Potentials.- 2.2 Electrical Characteristics of the Receptor Potential.- 2.3 Electrical Responses of Nerve and Muscle Fibers to Mechanical Stimulation.- 2.4 Dependence of Receptor Potential Parameters upon Mechanical Stimulus Characteristics.- 2.5 A Brief Conclusion.- 3 The Ionic Mechanisms of Receptor Potential Generation.- 3.1 The Role of Passive Ion Transport in Receptor Potential Generation.- 3.2 The Role of Active Ion Transport in Receptor Potential Generation.- 3.3 A Brief Conclusion.- 4 The First-order Code. Ionic Mechanisms of Signal Transformation in the Electrically Excitable Membrane of the Myelinated Fiber.- 4.1 The Main Postulates of the Membrane Ionic Theory. The Mathematical Hodgkin-Huxley Model.- 4.2 The Ionic Mechanisms of Numeric and Frequency Coding.- 4.3 Ionic Mechanisms of Nerve Impulse Generation in Sensory and Motor Fibers.- 4.4 A Brief Conclusion.- 5 The Effect of Biologically Active Substances upon Mechanoreceptors.- 5.1 The Effects of Catecholamines and the Sympathetic Nervous System on the Activity of Mechanoreceptors.- 5.2 The Effect of Acetylcholine and Cholinolytics on Mechanoreceptors.- 5.3 A Brief Conclusion.- 6 Summary.- References.
