PACEMAKERS IN NITELLA : III. ELECTRICAL ALTERNANS

An electrical impulse traveling along a Nitella cell may produce a complete or a partial response. The two kinds of response may occur in regular alternation. The partial response varies greatly and may be so far reduced as to appear as a local thickening in the upstroke of the action curve, usually accompanied by a more or less pronounced hump. In consequence a considerable variety of action curves is produced. The observations show that different regions of the cell may react differently.