4 : 5/ The Conduction of Impulses by Nerves 87 



special chemical transmitters. The latter alter the permeability of the 

 surface of the second neuron (or the muscle fiber) at specific receptor 

 spots. Depending on the receptor, and perhaps on the chemical 

 nature of the transmitter, this may result in stimulation or inhibition. 

 All manner of arithmetic and calculus operations can occur at synapses 

 between neurons. The behavior is similar to that in digital computers 

 but far more complex. 



REFERENCES 



1. Maximow, A. A., and William Bloom, A Textbook of Histology 4th ed. 

 (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company, 1942). 



2. Glasser, Otto, ed., Medical Physics (Chicago, Illinois: Year Book Publishers, 

 Inc.). 



a. Beutner, R., "Bioelectricity," (1944) Vol. I, pp. 35-88. 



b. Curtis, H. J., and K. S. Cole, "Nervous System: Excitation and 

 Propagation of Nerve," (1950) Vol. II, pp. 584-595. 



c. Rashevsky, N., "Nervous System: Mathematical Theory of Its 

 Functions," (1950) Vol. II, pp. 595-603. 



3. Barron, E. S. G., ed., Modern Trends in Physiology and Biochemistry (New 

 York: Academic Press, Inc., 1952). 



a. Grundfest, H., "Mechanisms and Properties of Biological Potentials," 

 pp. 193-228. 



4. Stevens, S. S., ed., Handbook of Experimental Psychology (New York: John 

 Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1951). 



a. Brink, Frank, Jr., "Excitation and Conduction in the Neuron," 

 pp. 50-93. 



b. "Synaptic Mechanisms," pp. 94-120. 



5. Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 31 (1959). 



a. Schmitt, F. O., "Molecular Organization of the Nerve Fiber," 

 pp. 455-465. 



b. Katz, Bernard, "Nature of the Nerve Impulse," pp. 466-474. 



c. "Mechanisms of Synaptic Transmission," pp. 524-531. 



