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Light Scattering and Birefringence Changes during Nerve Activity

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Abstract

Two optical techniques—light scattering and birefringence—have been used to detect rapid structural changes accompanying the action potentials in two types of non-myelinated nerve fibre. Changes in light scattering originate from at least two different phenomena, while a large part of the birefringence change seems to be directly dependent on the potential difference across the axon membrane, and arises in radially oriented molecules associated with the membrane.

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COHEN, L., KEYNES, R. & HILLE, B. Light Scattering and Birefringence Changes during Nerve Activity. Nature 218, 438–441 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/218438a0

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