 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 fire and acetylcholine is subsequently released from electromotor neurons to the electrocytes.The electrocytes fire an action potential using the voltage-gated sodium channels on one or both sides of the electrocyte, depending on the complexity of the electric organ in that species.