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The effect of sensory nerve transsection on the sensory cells and on the receptor potential of the tuberous (Knollen) organ in mormyrid fish (Gnathonemus sp.)

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Effect of the sensory nerve transsection on the secondary sensory cells and on the receptor potential (RP) were studied at the level of tuberous organs in mormyrid fish, Gnathonemus.

  2. 2.

    The amplitude and the shape of the receptor potential undergo modifications during the 12 days which follow the transsection of the afferent nerve. Spontaneous activity in the receptor is abolished within 48 hours after the section.

  3. 3.

    Transsection of the afferent nerve provokes rapid degeneration of all secondary sensory cells within 2 to 12 days. Out of 62 organs, the presence of 2 morphologically “intact” cells was observed in only one single case.

  4. 4.

    The diminishing of the amplitude of the receptor potential in an organ appears correlated to the number of “intact” sensory cells.

  5. 5.

    Degeneration of the afferent nerve, judged by its myelin content, occurs faster than that of the sensory cells.

  6. 6.

    The parallel histological and electrophysiolgical observations allow the conclusion that the RP is generated by the sensory cell membrane and not by the afferent nerve terminals.

  7. 7.

    The possible cause of the sensory cell modification due to degeneration of the “postsynaptic” nerve structure is discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Neurophysiologie Sensorielle Comparée, Centre d'Etudes de Physiologie Nerveuse, Paris, France

    Anton Roth & Thomas Szabo

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  1. Anton Roth
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  2. Thomas Szabo
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Additional information

Supported by research grant No 659.535 from the Direction de Recherches et Moyens d'Essais (D.R.M.E.) to Dr, Szabo, and, partly, by a grant of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD).

Address: 4, avenue Gordon Bennett, Paris 16ème.

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Roth, A., Szabo, T. The effect of sensory nerve transsection on the sensory cells and on the receptor potential of the tuberous (Knollen) organ in mormyrid fish (Gnathonemus sp.). Z. Vergl. Physiol. 62, 395–410 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299263

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299263

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