regardless of how carefully the particular prediction-basis is computed, it indicates that some major factor or factors are omitted, or are improperly weighted or coordinated, in the particular prediction-basis being tested for accuracy. In comparing two different prediction-bases against the same subsequently determined set of actual distribution-values, the coefficient of predictionaccuracy t...

Excitation-contraction coupling is the physiological process of converting an electrical stimulus into a mechanical response. In muscle, the electrical stimulus is an action potential and the mechanical response is active contraction. The classical Hill model characterizes muscle contraction though one contractile element, activated by electrical excitation, and two non-linear springs, one in s...

Myocytes have been regarded as the main objectives in most cardiac modeling studies and attracted a lot of attention. Connective tissue cells, such as fibroblasts (Fbs), also play crucial role in cardiac function. This study proposed an integrated myocyte-I sac-Fb electromechanical model to investigate the effect of Fbs and stretch activated ion channel current (I sac) on cardiac electrical exc...

Lateral excitation is a mechanism for amplifying coordinated input to postsynaptic neurons that has been described recently in several species. Here, we describe how a postsynaptic neuron, the lateral giant (LG) escape command neuron, enhances lateral excitation among its presynaptic mechanosensory afferents in the crayfish tailfan. A lateral excitatory network exists among electrically coupled...

Well-coordinated activation of all cardiomyocytes must occur on every heartbeat. At the cell level, a complex network of sarcolemmal invaginations, called the transverse-axial tubular system (TATS), propagates membrane potential changes to the cell core, ensuring synchronous and uniform excitation-contraction coupling. Although myocardial conduction of excitation has been widely described, the ...

Electrical stimulation of vestibular efferent neurons rapidly excites the resting discharge of calyx/dimorphic (CD) afferents. In turtle, this excitation arises when acetylcholine (ACh), released from efferent terminals, directly depolarizes calyceal endings by activating nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs). Although molecular biological data from the peripheral vestibular system implicate most of...

This is the era of the brain. Developing a deep understanding of the inner workings of this exceptionally complex organ and using that knowledge to invent new ways to affect its function is the premier scientific challenge of this century [1]. The fundamental currency of the brain and nervous system are electrical signals that orchestrate millisecond signaling through the networks of neurons th...

Sadao Yaegashi (八 重 樫 定 夫) From the Department of Physiology, Iwate Medical College, Morioka; Director: Prof. T. MitA (Received for publication, September 30, 1957) If the threshold voltages of alternating currents passing through the head, as determined with flickering phosphenes as an index of excitation, are plotted as a function of frequencies, there is found a distinct minimum at a frequen...

BACKGROUND Cardiac conduction occurs in an electrical syncytium of excitable cells connected by gap junctions. Disruption of these electrophysiological properties causes conduction slowing or block. Depending on the location of affected cells within the heart, this has the potential to result in clinical syndromes such as atrioventricular block. With a view to developing gene therapy strategies...