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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

External Excitation of Neurons Using Electric and Magnetic Fields in One- and Two-dimensional Cultures
Published on: May 7, 2017
Control of wave propagation in a biological excitable medium by an external electric field
Lenka Sebestikova1, Elena Slamova, Hana Sevcikova
1Institut für Experimentelle Physik, Abteilung Biophysik, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität, Universitätsplatz 2, D-39106 Magdeburg, Germany.
Abstract:
We present an experimental evidence of effects of external electric fields (EFs) on the velocity of pulse waves propagating in a biological excitable medium. The excitable medium used is formed by a layer of starving cells of Dictyostelium discoideum through which the waves of increased concentration of cAMP propagate by reaction-diffusion mechanism. External dc EFs of low intensities (up to 5 V/cm) are shown to speed up the propagation of cAMP waves towards the positive electrode and slow it down towards the negative electrode. Electric fields were also found to support an emergence of new centers, emitting cAMP waves, in front of cAMP waves propagating towards the negative electrode.
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