Effect of Low Sodium, Tetrodotoxin, and Temperature Variation upon Excitation

The lowering of external sodium raised both the constant quantity threshold, Q(o), and the rheobase, I(o), in both real space-clamped squid axons and the theoretical axon as computed on the basis of the standard Hodgkin-Huxley equations. In both real and theoretical axons the minimum intensity for excitability for short pulses, which occurs at about 15°C, was still present when low sodium replaced seawater. Low sodium did not affect the temperature dependence of the strength-duration relationship in the range, 5° to 25°C. The excitability of tetrodotoxin-treated real axons was found to be more temperature-dependent than that of normal real axons. Also the data on dosage-response to TTX of real axons fit the dose-response relationship of a hypothetical system in which one TTX ion binds reversibly to its receptor to produce a fraction of the inhibitory effect, the curve being identical to a simple adsorption isotherm. The Hodgkin-Huxley equations describe the broad outline of events occurring during excitation quite well.