Cell signaling of adjacent cells. In cardiac muscle, gap junctions between adjacent cells allows for action potential propagation from the cardiac pacemaker region of the heart to spread and coordinately cause contraction of the heart. The notch signaling mechanism is an example of juxtacrine signaling (also known as contact-dependent signaling) in which two adjacent cells must make physical contact in order to communicate. This requirement for direct contact allows for very precise control of cell differentiation during embryonic development. In the worm "Caenorhabditis elegans", two cells of the developing gonad each have an equal chance of terminally differentiating or becoming a uterine
Cardiac contractility modulation which delivers an electrical signal with the intention to result in cardiac contraction, the Cardiac contractility modulation treatment applies the NES, adjusted to and synchronized with the electrical action in the cardiac cycle. In Cardiac contractility modulation therapy, electrical stimulation is applied to the cardiac muscle during the absolute refractory period. In this phase of the cardiac cycle, electrical signals cannot trigger new cardiac muscle contractions, hence this type of stimulation is known as a non-excitatory stimulation. However, the electrical signals increase the influx of calcium ions into the cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes). In contrast to other electrical stimulation treatments