A theoretical treatment has been combined with practical methods to obtain quantitative measurements from the transient responses of electrically coupled cells. Communication via electrical synapses is characterized as a low resistance pathway, whereas membrane response is represented by a resistance in parallel with a capacitance. / The validity and consequences of this model have been investigated using data from identified pairs of electrically coupled neurons in the freshwater snail, Helisoma trivolvis. An automated procedure has been developed to monitor the degree of coupling over extended periods of time and transform these measurements into equivalent electrical units. / The model has been used to: functionally assess the coupled system employing a single micropipette; provide a spatial profile of cell load; monitor induced changes in coupling; examine the role of coupling in controlling the rate of spread of excitation; and evaluate electrical changes which occur within cells during axonal injury and subsequent recovery.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.77146 |
| Date | January 1981 |
| Creators | Publicover, Nelson George |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Electrical Engineering) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 000138936, proquestno: AAINK58082, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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