PROPERTIES OF ELECTRICALLY EXCITABLE MEMBRANES
Abstract
Although the broad outlines of the electrical excitation of membranes are now moderately well understood, the majority of the finer details remain to be worked out; for example, the action potential is known to arise from a transient shift in the membrane's ionic permeabilities, but the methods (or even the rules) by which a membrane distinguished ions, the properties of the distinguishing structures, and the nature of ion transit through the membrane are as yet incompletely explained. In the research proposed it is planned to approach the problem pharmacologically by challenging various excitable membranes with a variety of cations, anaesthetics, and toxins and observing their response by means of the voltage clamp technique. Ideally, this will lead to new empirical rules of membrane behavior and shed additional light on the basic processes which interact to generate the action potential.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0662595
Entities
People
- William F. Pickard
Organizations
- University of Washington