The correction factors for sucrose gap measurements and their practical applications

The distribution of extracellular and intracellular potential in the sucrose gap apparatus, previously established for a single fiber using the cable equations for a core conductor model (Jirounek and Straub, Biophys. J., 11:1, 1971), is obtained for a multifiber preparation. The exact equation is derived relating the true membrane potential change to the measured potential differences across the sucrose gap, the junction potentials between sucrose and physiological solution, the membrane potential in the sucrose region, and the electrical parameters of the preparation in each region of the sucrose gap. The extracellular potential distribution has been measured using a modified sucrose gap apparatus for the frog sciatic nerve and the rabbit vagus nerve. The results indicate a hyperpolarization of the preparations in the sucrose region, of 60--75 mV. The hyperpolarization is independent of the presence of junction potentials. The calculation of the correction terms in the equation relating the actual to the measured potential change is illustrated for the case of complete depolarization by KC1 on one side of the sucrose gap. The correction terms in the equation are given for various experimental conditions, and a number of nomographic charts are presented, by means of which the correction factors can be rapidly evaluated.