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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

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Published on: October 17, 2012
High perilymphatic potassium and rubidium levels modulate the sensory resting discharge in the isolated frog
Abstract:
The effects of high perilymphatic K+ and Rb+ concentrations (20 mM) on the posterior canal resting discharge have been examined in the isolated frog labyrinth. Both K+ and Rb+ produced an increase in spike frequency which is sustained by a parallel increase in the excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) emission rate. High K+ and Rb+ levels reduce the size of the afferent spike, broaden its time course but do not induce repetitive activity at the axon level. The K+ and Rb+ facilitation proved to be inversely related to the fibre's initial resting activity. The facilitation produced by increased K+ was usually larger than that in Rb+ solution. High sensitive and low sensitive units with similar low resting discharge were detected in relation to their response either to K+ or Rb+. The effects of both ions can be explained on the basis of their interactions with the presynaptic hair cell currents.
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