Recent studies have demonstrated that unsaturated fatty acids are involved in the regulation of neuroeffector function. I have extended these studies by examining the effect of arachidonic acid on neuromuscular function in vitro using the rat phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation. Arachidonic acid caused a time-and dose-dependent reduction in indirectly stimulated twitch tension, but had no effec...

In the slow-wave (SW) state, the vast majority of cortical neurons exhibit mostly synchronized oscillatory activity. In this study, we examined the right-left hemispheric difference in slow-wave timings in urethane-anesthetized mice. We found that interhemispheric cross-correlograms of local field potentials (LFPs) peaked asymmetrically. Double in vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recordings also rev...

As cardiomyocytes mature, their sarcomeres and Z-band widths increase in length in order for their myofibrils to produce stronger twitch forces during a contraction. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that tensional homeostasis is affected by altering myofibril forces. To assess this hypothesis, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were cultured on arrays of microposts to measure cellular contracti...

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has been demonstrated to modulate calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and phosphorylate the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+-ATPase in vitro. CaMKII overexpression in skeletal muscle in vivo increased twitch contraction and relaxation speed (chapter 3). However, it is unclear if CaMKII-dependent modification of RyR and SERCA a...

1. The force-velocity relationships during isotonic shortening were determined for the metathoracic second tergocoxal muscle of the locust Schistocerca americana (Drury). This muscle is a synchronous flight muscle. During the plateau of a tetanic contraction, the maximum shortening velocity (Vmax) determined from the force-velocity curve was 5.2 muscle lengths s" (25°C) and the curvature (a/Po)...

Post-rest contractile behavior of isolated myocardium indicates the capacity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) to store and release Ca2+. We investigated post-rest behavior in isolated muscle strips from nonfailing (NF) and endstage failing (dilated cardiomyopathy [DCM]) human hearts. At a basal stimulation frequency of 1 Hz, contractile parameters of the first twitch after increasing rest int...

We have compared the degree of tetanic fade relative to twitch depression occurring after isolated forearm block with vecuronium and that after systemic i.v. injection. Fifteen patients received either vecuronium 0.3 mg into an isolated forearm or vecuronium 0.05 mg kg-1 systemically. Adductor pollicis mechanomyography was used to monitor recovery of twitch height at 0.2 Hz. At 25, 50, 75 and 1...

We describe a 54-year-old man with myasthenia gravis, thymoma, systemic muscle twitch particularly of both lower limbs, hyperhidrosis and lower limb pain. The muscle twitch resembled to fasciculation rather than to myokymia and was persistent after discontinuation of anti-acetylcholinesterase drug. No attenuation nor disappearance of the muscle twitch was educed by spinal anesthesia. However, i...

Repetitive stimulation potentiates contractile tension of fast-twitch skeletal muscle. We examined the role of myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation in this physiological response by ablating Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) gene expression. Western blot and quantitative-PCR showed that MLCK is expressed predominantly in fast-twitch skel...

Effects of the mesenteric nerve stimulation (MNS) on the twitch contraction induced by field stimulation were investigated regarding the relationship between myenteric neurons and extrinsic cholinergic nerves in the guinea-pig mesenteric nerve-ileal preparation. The twitch contraction was inhibited after MNS. The inhibition of the twitch contraction after MNS was induced twice, just after MNS (...