Abstract: In this paper, a procedure was proposed, based on the linear cable equation and experi-mental observations, for analyzing electric signal transmission due to electrotonic propagation along a central neuron. The procedure was used to predict the characters of the membrane and the synaptic density along the ventral dendrite of the teleost Mauthner cell. For a typical group of experimental data, it was given that the membrane space constant is about 412μm, the time constant about 1.8 ms, and the synaptic density at 300 and 100μm. was 44% and 11% of that at 600 μm, respectively.

Key words: Mauthner cell, EPSP, cable equation