The Characteristics of Action Potentials in Primo Vessels and the Effects of Acetylcholine Injection to the Action Potentials

Abstract

In a previous study, we found that Primo vessels generate different action potentials in smooth muscles, but this study compared the pulse shape to distinguish the two tissues. Thus, a more sophisticated extracellular experiment was performed in this study using an acetylcholine injection; we then observed changes in the amplitude, FWHM (full width at half maximum), and period to explore Primo vessel function. A third type of pulse was recorded for Primo vessels. We observed fast depolarizing and repolarizing phases for this pulse. Further, its FWHM was 30 ms between smooth muscles and neurons. Acetylcholine affected only the period. The amplitude and FWHM were consistent after injection. Primo-vessels generated action potentials at twice the frequency after injection. From the results, we speculate that Primo-vessels perform a role in transferring signals in a different manner, which may be relevant for acupuncture treatment.