I. Excitability and Relationships Between the Initial and Critical Values of the Membrane Potential. - Changes in Vt associated with primary shifts of Er. - Changes in Vt resulting from a primary shift of Ec. - II. The Resting Potential. - III. Passive and Subthreshold Active Changes in the Membrane Potential. - Passive changes of membrane potential. - The local response. - IV. The Action Potential. - Historical. - Effect of changes in external and internal sodium and potassium ion concentrations on action potential generation. - Movement of ions through the membrane during activity. - Evidence for subdivision of the ionic currents. - Changes in ionic permeability. - Quantitative description of ionic currents. - V. Dependence of Action Potential Parameters on the Constants of Membrane Ionic Permeability. - Maximal sodium permeability $$\rm \overline P _{Na} $$Na. - Steady-state sodium inactivation (1 - h?) and time constant Th. - Reactivity of the sodium system (sensitivity of PNa to changes in membrane potential). - The threshold potential. - Maximal steepness of rise of the ascending phase of the action potential. - Amplitude of the action potential. - Duration of the action potential. - Time constant of sodium activation Tm. - Maximal potassium permeability $$\rm \overline P _K $$. - Reactivity of the potassium system (sensitivity of $$\rm \overline P _K $$ to changes in membrane potential). - Effects of an increase in reactivity of thepotassium system. - Effects of a decrease in reactivity of the potassium activating system. - Time constant of potassium activation (Tn). - Assessment of the character of changes in ionic permeability of the membrane from changes in the action potential. - VI. Analysis of Threshold Conditions of Stimulation and the Relationship Between the Threshold Current andThreshold Potential. - The strength versus duration curve. - Character of critical depolarization of the membrane during the action of pulses of current of different duration. Nature of the utilization time. - Relationship between the threshold current and the passive and active properties of the membrane. - VII. Role of the Rate of Change of the Stimulus. The Phenomenon of Accommodation. - The accommodation curve. - The mechanism of accommodation. - Minimal gradient as a function of the constants of ionic permeability of the membrane. - Accommodation and repetitive responses. - VIII. Cable Properties and Geometry of Excitable Structures and Parameters of Their Electrical Activity. - The propagated action potential. - Threshold conditions of stimulation. - The threshold potential. - The threshold current. - The strength versus duration curve. - Repetitive responses in a continuous axon. - Effects of stimulation of excitable structures with a functionally nonuniform membrane. - The relationship between the velocity of conductance of the action potential and the cable properties and excitability of the fiber. - Conduction of impulses along a nonuniform fiber. - Some properties of spike conduction from a medullated into a nonmedullated segment of a nerve fiber. - Compensatory changes in ionic currents during conduction of the impulse along a nonuniform fiber. - IX. Molecular Mechanisms of Ionic Permeability of the Excitable Membrane. - Functional architecture of the excitable membrane. - The hypothesis of ionic carriers. - The hypothesis of ion pores. - Hypotheses on conformational changes in the membrane. - Investigations of mechanisms of the changes in ionic permeability on artificial membranes. - Precipitation membranes. - Phospholipid membranes. - Conclusion. - Addendum. Language: English