THE PRODUCTION AND INHIBITION OF ACTION CURRENTS BY ALCOHOL.
Suitable concentrations of ethyl alcohol (1 to 1.5 M) applied to a spot on a cell of Nitella lower the P.D. enough to cause action currents. The alcohol then suppresses action currents arriving from other parts of the cell and acts as a block. After the alcohol is removed the normal P.D. and irritability return. Similar experiments on the sciatic nerve and skin of the frog produced only a negative result.
Osterhout
W J
WJ
Laboratories of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research.
Hill
S E
SE