Properties of the receptor potential in Pacinian corpuscles

There is now much evidence that the mechanical excitation of certain sensory receptors sets up a potential change in the receptor and that this potential change initiates impulses. The microphonic potential of the ear has been known for a long time, but recently its relation to impulse initiation has been clarified by Davis, Tasaki & Goldstein (1952). This situation, however, differs from that at touch and stretch receptors, because the microphonic potential is generated outside the sensory axon, while it is probable that the potential changes that follow mechanical stimulation in peripheral receptors are generated across the axonal membrane. Gray & Malcolm (1950) showed that during the interval between a mechanical pulse and the initiation of an impulse at a Pacinian corpuscle the excitability of the receptor rose steadily, and that if no impulse materialized the excitability then fell again; it was concluded that the time course of this excitability change represented the time course of a potential change at the axon terminal. Katz (1950) demonstrated a potential change occurring in muscle spindles during stretch, which he showed was responsible for the initiation of impulses and called the 'spindle potential'. Recently, Alvarez-Buylla & Ramirez de Arellano (1953) observed a potential in Pacinian corpuscles, which is clearly the immediate precursor of the impulse. These potential changes in receptors are the earliest known signs of activity in the process of impulse initiation and further knowledge of the fundamental properties of receptor mechanisms demands a greater knowledge of their properties. These experiments were carried out on the Pacinian corpuscle for a number of reasons; the most important being that it seemed practicable to prepare a single receptor in such a way that records of the current flow along the last internode could be obtained. Such a technique can clearly distinguish potentials generated in the short (c. 0 5 mm) non-myelinated terminal from those in the rest of the axon. It is also an advantage to have a stable preparation. Pacinian corpuscles, although extremely sensitive, are not spontaneously

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