von Muralt A
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1975 Jun 10;270(908):411-23. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1975.0019.
Among the signs of activity in excitable membranes, the action current (electrical spike) has been extensively studied. Recently, a new approach with optical methods has been rewarding. In nerves, a transient, rapid change of light scanning, birefringence and induced fluorescence can be observed during the passage of the action current. These optical effects are synchronous with the electrical spike and are therefore called the optical spikes. Birefringence decreases during excitation in the giant axon of the squid, the walking nerves of Maia, the vagus nerve of the rabbit, but it increases in the olfactory nerve of the pike, which contains 4 million nonmedullated nerve fibres. Light scattering increases or decreases depending on the angle of observation. Vitally stained nerves with fluorescent probes show an increase and a shift in the wavelength distribution of the fluorescent spike.
在可兴奋膜的活动迹象中，动作电流（电脉冲）已得到广泛研究。最近，一种采用光学方法的新途径颇有成效。在神经中，动作电流通过时可观察到光扫描、双折射和诱导荧光的瞬时快速变化。这些光学效应与电脉冲同步，因此被称为光学脉冲。在鱿鱼的巨大轴突、黄道蟹的行走神经、兔子的迷走神经中，兴奋时双折射会降低，但在梭子鱼的嗅神经中双折射会增加，梭子鱼的嗅神经包含400万条无髓神经纤维。光散射根据观察角度增加或减少。用荧光探针进行活体染色的神经显示荧光脉冲的波长分布增加并发生偏移。
