Plasma membrane nanoporation as a possible mechanism behind infrared excitation of cells.

Objective: Short infrared (IR) laser pulses have been used to stimulate action potentials in neurons both in vivo and in vitro. However, the mechanism(s) underlying this phenomenon has remained elusive. In vitro studies have found that pulsed IR exposure generates a nearly instant change in capacitance in the plasma membrane, characterized by inward rectification, a common feature in pore-forming exposures, such as electrical pulses and acoustic shock waves.