A depolarizing receptor potential produced by mechanical stimulation was studied in pawn mutants of Paramecium tetraurelia bathed in TEA solution. The potential was dependent upon the strength of the mechanical stimulation until a maximum response was reached. The maximum value was dependent on the concentration of external Ca. Discounting the change in resting potential (attributable to change...

Abstract Acoustic and vibrational sensitivity of single identified auditory receptors in bushcrickets was studied by electrophysiological methods. In the intermediate organ, some neurons were whose response to acceleration did not depend on stimulus frequency over a significant range; along with them, there cells showing increased frequencies 0.4–0.8 kHz for displacement, and/or 0.1–0.3, 1–1.2,...

How cells sense their mechanical environment and transduce forces into biochemical signals is a crucial yet unresolved question in mechanobiology. Platelets use receptor glycoprotein Ib (GPIb), specifically its α subunit (GPIbα), to signal as they tether and translocate on von Willebrand factor (VWF) of injured arterial surfaces against blood flow. Force elicits catch bonds to slow VWF-GPIbα di...