Some properties of the denervated anterior gracilis muscle of the rat

Abstract

1 . Microdrops of acetylcholine (ACh) were topically applied to denervated, mammalian skeletal muscle in vivo, and ACh-evoked depolarization and contracture were recorded simultaneously. 2 . Contracture tension was directly proportional to the degree of ACh-elicited depolarization. 3 . Atropine and (+)-tubocurarine increased the amount of ACh required to produce a given amount of depolarization, but these anticholinergic agents did not alter the relationship between the degree of ACh-evoked depolarization and contracture tension. 4 . Topically applied catecholamines did not produce either depolarization or contracture, despite the fact that parenterally administered catecholamines elicited both responses.