Abstract
THERE is increasing evidence that histamine is a transmitter substance in the central nervous system1–4. In particular, observations suggest that histamine has a synaptic function in the vertebrate spinal cord. The compound is present in sensory nerves of the cat and is liberated peripherally on antidromic stimulation of dorsal roots5. Histamine applied microelectrophoretically can hyperpolarize feline spinal neurones6. Häusler and Sterz7 have reported that histamine enhances spinal reflexes in the frog and that a histamine-like substance is released from the spinal cord when sensory nerves are stimulated, but Angelucci8 was unable to detect an effect of histamine on, or a release of a histamine-like factor from, the frog spinal cord. I have therefore studied the effects of histamine on the isolated spinal cord of the toad, which is a convenient preparation for studying the actions of drugs on nervous tissue.
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An erratum to this article is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/225981b0
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TĒBCIS, A. Effects of Histamine on the Toad Spinal Cord. Nature 225, 196–197 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225196a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225196a0
