Electrical Responses From the Lateral-Line Nerves of Fishes

Abstract

The spontaneous discharge of impulses from the lateral-line nerves of trout and catfish has been examined. 1. Broken endings of nerve fibers supplying receptors of the lateral-lines of trout and catfish may be the source of a repetitive discharge of nerve impulses. 2. This injury discharge occurs more frequently in trout and may mask the spontaneous discharge from the receptor cells. Experiments indicate that the latter discharge is not the result of injury. 3. The injury discharge ceases in from 10 to 15 minutes. The spontaneous receptor discharge in trout may continue for an hour if the circulation remains intact. The receptor response also fails in from 10 to 15 minutes after failure of the circulation. 4. The receptor discharge, the injury discharge, or the summed discharges frequently become synchronized. The excitability of the fibers of the nerve trunk appears to vary synchronously, so that nerve impulses initiated in fibers from tactile receptors not contributing to the spontaneous discharge can be conducted only during the part of the cycle occupied by the spontaneous discharge.

Action Currents of the Single Lateral-Line Nerve Fiber of Fish

“…The results of Hoagland's research (1)(2)(3)(4)(5) on this nerve, executed by means of electro-physiological techniques, clarified some facts, so far unknown.…”

The Electrical Response of the Lateral Line System of Fish to Tone and Other Stimuli

“…Later, other work was done on the electrical response of the lateral line nerves. Hoagland (1932-33) showed that they were in a state of continuous activity upon which the response to various stimuli could be seen superimposed. Schriever (1934-35) apparently unaware of Hoagland's work reported similar results but on different species, while Lowenstein and Sand (1936), and Sand (1937Sand ( ,1938 worked with both teleosts and elasmobranchs but mainly with the lateral line system in the head region of Raja.…”