Electrical interaction of parallel non-myelinated nerve fibres-II. Collective conduction of impulses

This part of the work is a continuation of the investigation of the electrical interaction of parallel non-myelinated nerve fibres located in direct proximity to each other. The interaction is brought about through an external medium in which the potential changes during the passage of the impulses. Simultaneous excitation of two fibres may result in the formation of a collective state in which both impulses move at the same speed despite the fact that the inherent rates of the individual impulses may differ. It has been shown that the formation of as many as five different collective states is possible depending on the reciprocal position of the impulses. Not more than three of them are stable. The speed of the collective impulse and the maximum permissible scatter of the individual speeds at which the formation of collective states is possible have been found. We have specially investigated the case in which inherent speeds of individual impulses are the same or differ very slightly. Here the formation of a collective state is possible in which the impulses move next to each other without any "phase shift". The speed of such a collective impulse may be much smaller than the individual speeds.