Electroplaques
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Electrocytes or electroplaques are cells used by electric eels and other electric fish for electrogenesis and electroreception. They are flat disk-like cells that are stacked in a sequence in a manner similar to a battery. Electric eels have several thousand of these cells stacked, each producing 0.15V. Postsynaptically, electrocytes work much like muscle cells and, because of their resemblance to nerve-muscle junctions, are used in research. To discharge the electrocytes at the correct time, the electric eel uses its pacemaker nucleus, a nucleus of pacemaker neurons. When an electric eel spots its prey, the pacemaker neurons fires and acetylcholine is subsequently released from electromotor neurons to the electrocytes, resulting in an electric organ discharge.