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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1995 Apr 25;92(9):3740–3743. doi: 10.1073/pnas.92.9.3740

Rectification and signal averaging of weak electric fields by biological cells.

R D Astumian 1, J C Weaver 1, R K Adair 1
PMCID: PMC42037  PMID: 7731976

Abstract

Oscillating electric fields can be rectified by proteins in cell membranes to give rise to a dc transport of a substance across the membrane or a net conversion of a substrate to a product. This provides a basis for signal averaging and may be important for understanding the effects of weak extremely low frequency (ELF) electric fields on cellular systems. We consider the limits imposed by thermal and "excess" biological noise on the magnitude and exposure duration of such electric field-induced membrane activity. Under certain circumstances, the excess noise leads to an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio in a manner similar to processes labeled "stochastic resonance." Numerical results indicate that it is difficult to reconcile biological effects with low field strengths.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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