Title: The effects of drugs on the neurones of the snail Helix aspersa
Abstract: Abstract 1. (1) The effect of adding various chemicals to the isolated brain of the snail Helix aspersa is described. The reactions were followed by measuring the effect of the chemicals on the resting potential and the spontaneous action potentials of the nerve cells. 2. (2) All the following chemicals were effective at dilutions between 10−7 and 10−11 g/ml. The sign indicates their overall acceleratory (+) or inhibitory (−) effect on the spontaneous activity. Acetylcholine (+) Glutamic acid (±) Adrenaline (+) Histamine (±) Cocarboxylase (±) Nor-adrenaline (±) Dimethyl-amino-ethanol (−) 5-HT (+) Dopamine (−) Phenylalanine (−) γ-Aminobutyric acid (+) Thiamine hydrochloride (±) 3. (3) Dopamine and phenylalanine caused a hyperpolarization of the resting potential. 4. (4) Phenylalanine, glutamic acid and cocarboxylase could protect the cell against the action of high concentrations of acetylcholine. 5. (5) It is thought that most of the above chemicals may occur naturally in the snail and that acetylcholine and dopamine are the most likely transmitter substances. 6. (6) Most of the drugs had a dual action; inhibiting some cells and accelerating others. It is suggested that there is a marked chemical heterogeneity in the CNS with cells reacting specifically but different to a given chemical.
Publication Year: 1961
Publication Date: 1961-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 123
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