I. Tasaki et Pm. Byrne, THE ORIGIN OF RAPID CHANGES IN BIREFRINGENCE, LIGHT-SCATTERING AND DYE ABSORBENCY ASSOCIATED WITH EXCITATION OF NERVE-FIBERS, Japanese Journal of Physiology, 43, 1993, pp. 190000067-190000075
By comparing the time-courses of rapid optical changes in the garfish
olfactory nerve evoked by electric stimulation with those of mechanica
l changes observed at the site of optical recording, the origin of opt
ical changes in the nerve has been investigated. Based on the finding
that the time-course of the birefringence change accurately coincides
with that of swelling of the nerve, optical changes are interpreted as
being brought about by invasion of water into the superficial layer o
f the nerve fibers. A close relationship has also been demonstrated be
tween nerve swelling and changes in light scattering and in dye absorb
ance.