Excitatory effects of the electrical activity of muscle on the contiguous nerve

Experiments were performed on frog sciatic-gastrocnemius preparations in order to investigate the different conditions under which the excitation can be transmitted from muscle to nerve. The results demonstrate that, on one hand, the proximal part of the m. gastrocnemius is of greater importance in the transmission of excitation than the distal one and, on the other hand, when the nerve is in contact with more than one muscle, the transmission of excitation is determined by the compound electrical activity of the muscles. These results together with the findings of other authors support the hypothesis that the effect of the electrical muscle activity on the nerve in contact with the muscles could play an additional role in the mechanism of the excitatory processes of both the nerve and muscle.