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Show How Nerve Messages Are Transmitted by Electricity NEW YORK. New light on how you think the electrical means by which messages are transmitted through the nerves of the body was presented to a meeting of the American Physical society here. Drs. Kenneth S. Cole and Howard J. Curtis of the department of physiology phys-iology of Columbia university's College Col-lege of Physicians and Surgeons described de-scribed the new experiments on this most-baffling of scientific problems. They said: "The exact mechanism by which a nerve transmits its message is not understood at the present time, but it has long been known that a nerve Impulse is in part at least electrical in nature. Measuring Electrical Properties. "In order more fully to understand under-stand the process of excitation it is necessary to measure the electrical properties of the nerve In the same way as it U necessary to measure the electrical properties of a wire before its current carrying ability can be predicted. This paper reports re-ports such measurements on resting rest-ing nerves. It was found that the membrane surrounding tin individual individ-ual nerve fiber offers a high resistance re-sistance to the passage of an electrical elec-trical current, which means that the ionic carriers of electricity find difficulty In getting through this membrane. "On the other hand, its electric capacity, that is, its ability to store up electrical energy, is high. Thus an electrical current can pass Into (or out from) a nerve fiber without causing It to lose any of its dissolved dis-solved salts which are essential to the life of the celL Work is now in progress to determine the change, if any, in these properties when the nerve is in a state of excitation." |