MECHANISMS RELATED TO CHARGE DENSITY PULSE FORMATION IN LIVING SYSTEMS

Abstract

In this paper we discuss empirical approaches designed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the formation of Charge Density Pulses (CDP) originating in living organisms. These oscillating pulses originate intracellularly in an unstable, dissipative system and are manifested as interfacial reactions located at the tissue-metal electrode contact zone. In both plants and animals the characteristics of the input energy are consistent with intracellular homeostatic mechanisms which dissipate in accordance with a precise log-time function. Studies with living systems support a conjecture of CDP specificity within tissue types; showing that the most active oscillations occur in those tissues with higher metabolic rates. In human subjects, injury and its associated pain, produces significant alterations in the CDP waveform, the magnitude of which can be utilized to quantitatively determine pain levels. Specific examples of applying CDr methods in trauma and pain monitoring are given in Levengood and Gedye, U.S. patent No. 6,347,238 B 1, issued February 12, 2002. J

From the application of reaction rate theory the Gibbs free energy of activation, for CDP formation in Dacus carota roots was found to be 9.4 kcallmole. In addition, strong support for enzymatic control of the CDP oscillatory process was provided by the observation that the dissipative rate constant (k-value) dropped very sharply as the tissue temperature reached 40"C, a critical temperature which in most plant species is well known to produce enzymatic deactivation and inhibition of respiration. From these enzymatic studies as well as from data obtained in the early phases of our work, it became quite clear that CDP pulses are composed of charge carrier mechanisms with properties far more complex than those observed under conditions of classical electronic conduction. The observed non-ohmic conductivity patterns are suggestive of the kinds of superconductivity mechanisms found in Josephson Junction systems where charge carriers are formed within metal-metal oxide layers.