ISOLATED NEURON RESPONSE TO BLUE LASER: PHENOMENOLOGY AND POSSIBLE MECHANISM

A.B. UZDENSKY
Department of Biophysics and Biocybernetics,
Physical Faculty, Rostov State University,
Stachky av., 194/1, Rostov-on-Don, 344090, Russia
e-mail: uzd@krinc.rnd.runnet.ru

1. Introduction

Wide laser applications in medicine stimulated extensive studies of visible light effects on nonpigmented animal cells which does not contain specific light-absorbing molecules [1-4]. Nerve cells are not the traditional photobiological object. However, the data on the laser light influence on neurons are of importance for laser neurosurgery, therapy, hygiene, ophthalmology and other fields of laser medicine where nerve tissue undergo intensive laser impact. Moreover, the study of laser irradiation effects on nerve cell can give some information on the common photobiological mechanisms of the laser radiation effects on non-pigmented animal cells, and help in the studies of some neurophysiological problems including the elucidation of relationships between cell function , structure, and metabolism.

Since the pioneer works of N. Chalazonitis and A.Arvanitaki it is well known that visible light changes electrophysiological processes in invertebrate pigmented neurons. Illumination can inhibit or excite them depending on the pigment nature in these cells [5-9].

Earlier non-pigmented neurons were considered as non-sensitive to visible light [10]. However, shortly after the development of lasers their photosensitivity was established. It has been shown that visible laser light can effectively influence bioelectric processes [11-17], ultrastructure [14,16], and metabolism in nerve cells [14]. But the phenomenology and mechanisms of nerve cell response to laser irradiation, and their dependence on laser light parameters such as wavelength, intensity, exposure, irradiation mode, etc. have not been sufficiently studied. Most of authors investigated neuron alterations after short laser pulses. However, it is very important to study neuron responses in the course of irradiation.

The goal of the present paper is the review our data on the dynamics of the functional, structural , and metabolic changes in a single non-pigmented invertebrate neuron under blue laser microirradiation .