Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

The Fibular Nerve Injury Method: A Reliable Assay to Identify and Test Factors That Repair Neuromuscular Junctions
Published on: August 11, 2016
'Action substances' of peripheral nerve re-visited
1Physiological Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Fifty years ago, four 'action substances' were described as being 'liberated' from peripheral nerve in the course of activity. An attempt has been made to update this information. Confirmatory evidence is available that acetylcholine and thiamine do play a role in the course of activity. However, the question of the relationship in time between their release and the electrical events, and the possible effect on specific ionic gating mechanisms, remains unclarified. The 'liberation' of potassium has been found to be a transmembrane K efflux, and the question of the existence of another substance similar to thiamine has not been pursued.
Related Concept Videos
Neurochemical Transmission: Sites of Drug Action
Neuromuscular Junction And Blockade
Local Anesthetics: Differential Sensitivity of Nerve Fibers
Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
Peripheral Nervous System: Ganglia and Nerves
Nerves
The nerve is a bundle of axons that serves as the communication highway in the PNS. Each nerve is ensheathed in a protective layer of connective tissue called the epineurium. This outermost layer safeguards the nerve and supports the...

