THE EFFECTS OF SODIUM, POTASSIUM AND CALCIUM ON METABOLISM OF RAT’S CEREBRAL CORTICAL SLICE WITH OR WITHOUT ELECTRICAL STIMULATION

Abstract

A wide study, extending even to analysis in homogenates and subcellular fractions, is now being made in order to elucidate the exact mechanism of linkage between active cation transport and metabolism. Many wonderful achievements and hypotheses seem to have been published; nevertheless, the exact mechanism is still obscure. The fact that separated mammalian cerebral tissues, suitably maintained in vitro, show remarkable metabolic responses to adequate electrical stimulation has been explored mainly by McIlwain and his colleagues. Their comprehensive studies concerning this phenomenon have led to many valuable findings, and that concerning ganglioside may be especially excellent (1-3). However, at the present stage, it cannot be said that the biochemical origin of these metabolic responses and its physiological roles are clear. In addition, except for their achievement, other achievements along this line are still very few and some differences in the results also can be observed. From the point of view of the present studies concerning active transport and metabolism, there is even more of a necessity for studies along this line. Therefore, we have taken a somewhat different experimental procedure to manifest the role of external sodium in metabolism of separated mammalian cerebral cortical tissue in both the presence and absence of electrical stimulation in correlation to the effects of potassium and calcium.