Evening star., 1953-11-18
Electrical Currents
In Nerve Cell Studied
Nature of Slight Impulse
Not Yet Well Understood
By Thomos R. Henry


The electrical energy of single, micro
scopic nerve cells now Is being measured
at the National Institute of Mental Dis
eases.
This is being accomplished by DR..
Carl Frank of the institute staff with q
glass electrode less than a 50-thou-
sandth Of an inch in diameter-probably
the most delicate instrument yet used
in neurological research. Described as a
hollow tube filled with a salt solution
that conducts electricity, it is connected
with wire leading to a device outside
the body which amplifieS the minute
impulses thousands-fo The electrode
is inserted directly into an individual
nerve cell. Two can be put in a single
cell. it has been determined, without
interfering with its normal activity.
Thus far DIR. Franks experiments
have been confined to nerve cells in
the spinal cord and have dealt with
quite specialized problems. There is no
reason, however why the electrodes
could not be inserted into individual
cells in the brains gray matter and
thus lead to better understanding of
the mechanisms of thinking.
Phenomenon Studied.
Special attention is being given at
present to the so-called "retrograde
wave" phenomenon which has
puzzled neurologists for years. A nerve
fiber, or series of nerve fibers, carries
an impulse to a nerve cell. This, in turF
transmits the impulse to another ner..
fiber leading to gland or muscle.
The nature of the impulse itself Is
not well understood. In some respects
it is like current of electricity, and
in others like train of gunpowder.
It does not lose intensity as it pro-
crosses. And almost always when the
nerve cell is reached there is kick
back along the same fiber which has
carried the impulse. This usually is
extremely slight and with the new type
of electrode 1t can be measured accu-
rately for the first time.
The kickback seems to serve no pur-
pose in the mechanism of the nervous
system, but the National Institute ex-
perimenters are convinced there must
be reason since it is universal through
the animal kingdom.
An anti-biotic which appears in test
tube experiments to be about as ef-
fective as penicillin or streptomycin
against certain common bacteria has
been obtained from -four beetles by
Navy doctors at the Navy's field re-
search laboratory at Camp Lejeune.
N. c.
1t appears to be some sort of glandu-
lar secretion from the beetles, accord
ing to the report of Comdr. j. D. De
CourSey and his associates for whom
the discovery results from search ex-
tending over two years in which tests
were made with more than 100 insects
common around the North Carolina
Marine base. Only the flour beetles
obtained from sacks of dog food have
yielded anything worthwhile.
1t long has been observed that battle
wounds which became infested with
bugs, chiefly maggots, sometimes healed
more quickly than sterile wounds This
was reported especially during World
War and the phenomenon supposedly
was, due to something secreted by the
insects. This material, however, was
wrongly identified; and the days Of
anti-biotics still were far in the future.
Noted Long Ago.
But as long ago as the English civil
wars in the 18th century the phe-
nomenon had been noted, and an
eminent Puritan doctor of the time
wrote lengthy treatise about it. His
conclusion. backed by abundant sta
tistics, was that doctors should leave
wounds alone and instead treat the
weapons which caused the wounds if
they could be found. This, of course,
was pure magic, but at the time it
probably was good advice. A wounded
soldier had a much better chance of
recovering if not subjected to the
clumsy surgery of the 18th century.
With the advent of anti-biotics, start
ing with penicillin just before the last
war, 1T was strongly suspected that the
healing action was due to some secre-
ton of the bugs, but the work at Camp
Lejeune gives the first demonstration
that such substances actually exist.
Previous anti -biotics have been Secreted
from moulds or from bacteria them
selves.
The precise nature of the substance
still is mystery. It does not exist, the
Navy doctors have demonstrated, in
the head of the beetle and to very
small extent in the thorax 1t comes
chiefly from the abdomen. Highly
volatile and light claret in color, it
evidently is not protein of any kind.
It is secreted in equal abundance by
flour beetles of both sexes.
When fed to rabbits the material,
obtained from the bodies of great num-
bers of the insects by centrifuging,
showed no poisonous effects. Injected
into white mice it caused a noticeable
lethargy after a delay of five hours.
but in % hours all seemed back to
normal again.