Excitation Process and Swelling of Nerve Fibers

Abstract

It is now firmly established that nerve fibers swell transiently when they are excited^1-4. A variety of nerve cells were also shown to undergo rapid swelling when excited^5,6. Viewed from a colloid chemical standpoint, this transient swelling is a very interesting phenomenon. In my opinion, however, the real significance of this phenomenon lies in the fact that it throws new light on the mechanism of nerve excitation. As is generally known, many present-day neurobiologists employ equivalent electric circuits of the nerve membrane in explaining their experimental data. The physicochemical basis of these equivalent circuits is obscure. Our analyses of non-electrical manifestations of excitation process furnish a basis for an alternative, physico-chemically oriented interpretation of the excitation process.