Abstract
A square pulse of increased temperature often produces in nerve systems two response transients of opposite sign at the start and end of the temperature pulse. This is characteristic of a pyroelectric process. It is seen in the fish thermoreceptor, which also shows proportionality between the time derivatives of response and temperature which is predicted from pyroelectric theory. The muscle stretch receptor shows linearity of neural response with the logarithm of applied mechanical force. This is predicted from the concept that the neural response is governed by a piezoelectric effect in an elastic polymer macromolecule.
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Cope, F.W. Piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity as a basis for force and temeprature detection by nerve receptors. Bltn Mathcal Biology 35, 31–41 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02558791
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02558791