Absence of staircase following disuse in rat gastrocnemius muscle

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. MacIntosh ◽  
Marie-Cristine Roberge ◽  
Phillip F. Gardiner
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscles ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Repetitive Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Weight ◽  
Twitch Contraction ◽  
Fast Twitch ◽  
Pulse Stimulation ◽  
Stimulation Of

Repetitive stimulation of mammalian fast-twitch skeletal muscles will normally result in a positive staircase response. This phenomenon was investigated in the rat gastrocnemius muscle following a 2-week period of tetrodotoxin-induced disuse. Muscle inactivity was imposed by superfusing tetrodotoxin in saline over the left sciatic nerve via an implanted osmotic pump. In situ isometric contractile responses to double pulse stimulation and repetitive stimulation at 10 Hz were determined the day after removal of the pump. Two weeks of disuse resulted in 40% muscle weight loss. A twitch contraction gave the same force when expressed per gram of wet muscle weight in control muscles, 317 ± 24.6 [Formula: see text] g/g, as compared with tetrodotoxin-treated muscles, 328 ± 24.2 g/g. Both contraction time and half-relaxation time were prolonged following treatment with tetrodotoxin. Repetitive stimulation at 10 Hz resulted in a positive staircase response in the control muscles, but not in muscles of the tetrodotoxin-treated rats. The observed changes in the time course of the twitch contraction with repetitive stimulation following tetrodotoxin-induced disuse are consistent with alterations in sarcoplasmic reticulum handling of calcium. It is not certain if there is a change following disuse in the mechanism normally associated with staircase or if this mechanism is merely opposed by an early fatigue.

In vivo IIX and IIB fiber recruitment in gastrocnemius muscle of the rat is compartment related

1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 933-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. De Ruiter ◽  
P. E. Habets ◽  
A. de Haan ◽  
A. J. Sargeant
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Periodic Acid ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Periodic Acid Schiff ◽  
Fast Twitch ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Stimulation Of

The purpose of the present study was to investigate to what extent fast-twitch IIX and IIB fiber recruitment was related to the natural existing muscle compartments (subvolumes of muscle innervated by different primary nerve branches) in rat medial gastrocnemius. Three groups (n = 6) of rats trotted on a motor-driven treadmill (20 degrees incline) at different speeds. A fourth group served as controls, and a fifth group received in situ electrical stimulation of all medial gastrocnemius muscle fibers. Postexercise glycogen levels (periodic acid-Schiff staining intensities) were made. Running caused more and in situ stimulation caused less glycogen breakdown in the proximal IIX and IIB fibers compared with the fibers of the same type in the most distal compartment. Furthermore, the boundaries of the most distal compartment could often be recognized in the periodic acid-Schiff-stained cross sections. It was concluded that during running the proximal IIX and IIB fibers were recruited to a greater extent (and at lower treadmill speeds) compared with the distal IIX and IIB fibers, respectively.

Length dependence of staircase potentiation: interactions with caffeine and dantrolene sodium

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilson E Rassier ◽  
Brian R MacIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Repetitive Stimulation ◽  
Mammalian Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Optimal Length ◽  
Dantrolene Sodium ◽  
Length Dependence ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Isometric Twitch

In skeletal muscle, there is a length dependence of staircase potentiation for which the mechanism is unclear. In this study we tested the hypothesis that abolition of this length dependence by caffeine is effected by a mechanism independent of enhanced Ca2+ release. To test this hypothesis we have used caffeine, which abolishes length dependence of potentiation, and dantrolene sodium, which inhibits Ca2+ release. In situ isometric twitch contractions of rat gastrocnemius muscle before and after 20 s of repetitive stimulation at 5 Hz were analyzed at optimal length (Lo), Lo - 10%, and Lo + 10%. Potentiation was observed to be length dependent, with an increase in developed tension (DT) of 78 ± 12, 51 ± 5, and 34 ± 9% (mean ± SEM), at Lo - 10%, Lo, and Lo + 10%, respectively. Caffeine diminished the length dependence of activation and suppressed the length dependence of staircase potentiation, giving increases in DT of 65±13, 53 ± 11, and 45 ± 12% for Lo - 10%, Lo, and Lo + 10%, respectively. Dantrolene administered after caffeine did not reverse this effect. Dantrolene alone depressed the potentiation response, but did not affect the length dependence of staircase potentiation, with increases in DT of 58 ± 17, 26 ± 8, and 18 ± 7%, respectively. This study confirms that there is a length dependence of staircase potentiation in mammalian skeletal muscle which is suppressed by caffeine. Since dantrolene did not alter this suppression of the length dependence of potentiation by caffeine, it is apparently not directly modulated by Ca2+ availability in the myoplasm.

Neuromuscular Physiology of the Longitudinal Muscle of the Earthworm, Lumbricus Terrestris

1974 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-467
Author(s):  
C. D. DREWES ◽  
R. A. PAX
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Longitudinal Muscle ◽  
Lumbricus Terrestris ◽  
Single Pulse ◽  
Repetitive Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Fibres ◽  
Mechanical Responses ◽  
Segmental Nerve ◽  
Earthworm Lumbricus ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. Patterns of innervation of the longitudinal muscle of the earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, were examined electrophysiologically. 2. The longitudinal musculature of a segment is innervated by relatively few axons, a fast and slow axon being present in segmental nerve I and in the double nerve, segmental nerve II-III. 3. Single-pulse stimulation of the fast axon produces large external muscle potentials and small twitch-like contractions, which with repetitive stimulation are antifacilitating. 4. Repetitive stimulation of the slow axon produces large, slowly developing and sustained mechanical responses, with electrical and mechanical responses showing summation and facilitation. 5. The amplitude and time course of slow mechanical responses are related to the frequency of stimulation. 6. Individual longitudinal muscle fibres are innervated by either the fast or slow axon in a segmental nerve, or by both fast and slow axons. 7. No evidence was found for peripheral inhibitory innervation of the longitudinal muscle.

Influence of aerobic metabolism on IMP accumulation in fast-twitch muscle

1985 ◽  
Vol 248 (1) ◽  
pp. C37-C42 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Dudley ◽  
R. L. Terjung
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Functional Capacity ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Metabolic Stress ◽  
Aerobic Metabolism ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Fast Twitch Muscle ◽  
Fast Twitch ◽  
Peak Blood

Significant activation of AMP deaminase in fast-twitch muscle leads to a loss of ATP and accumulation of NH4 and IMP. Although this occurs during severe metabolic stress caused by intense contraction conditions, the process is probably influenced by the muscle's capacity for aerobic metabolism. We evaluated this possibility during moderately intense (5 Hz) contraction conditions in situ by following the time course of NH4 and IMP accumulation in fast-twitch, low-oxidative white (FTW) and fast-twitch, high-oxidative red (FTR) muscle of the rat. A high rate of IMP formation, resulting in a 50% loss of ATP content, occurred in normal FTW, but not FTR muscle, during contractions when blood flow was intact. Eliminating blood flow prior to contractions, however, removed the distinction between the FTR and FTW muscle. The FTR fiber section now produced a high IMP content and a stoichiometric loss of ATP. Thus the ability of the FTR fiber to sustain this contraction effort without an ATP loss is due to its greater functional capacity for aerobic metabolism. The FTW muscle section of trained animals exhibited a reduced accumulation of IMP and a smaller loss of ATP during the same 5-Hz stimulation. The mitochondrial content and peak blood flow of this FTW fiber section is increased by training. Thus it is probable that the cellular conditions leading to a significant accumulation of IMP in fast-twitch muscle are determined by the metabolic stress established by the contraction effort, relative to the muscle fiber's functional capacity for aerobic metabolism.

Partial prevention of glucocorticoid-induced muscle atrophy by endurance training

1981 ◽  
Vol 241 (3) ◽  
pp. E226-E232 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Hickson ◽  
J. R. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Atrophy ◽  
Protein Concentration ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Citrate Synthase ◽  
Treadmill Running ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Total Protein Concentration ◽  
Muscle Weight ◽  
Subcutaneous Injections ◽  
Fast Twitch

Male rats were either sham-operated (N) or castrated (C) at 65 days of age. They were further subdivided into sedentary or exercise groups that were trained by treadmill running 5 days/wk for 12 wk. During the last 10 days of training, the animals received daily subcutaneous injections of cortisone acetate (CA) (100 mg/kg) or 1% carboxymethylcellulose. Body weight decreased approximately 25% in all groups that received CA. The fast-twitch plantaris and gastrocnemius muscle weights were approximately 35% lower in CA-treated versus cortisone-free N and C sedentary animals. Exercise prevented from one-fourth to one-half of the muscle weight loss in N and C runners when compared to their respective pair weight controls. Muscle weights of the CA-treated freely eating N controls were significantly less than that of N runners that received CA. In plantaris muscles of both N and C animals that received CA, total protein concentration and citrate synthase activity, a mitochondrial marker, remained constant, but their amounts per muscle decreased in proportion to the atrophy. However, myoglobin concentration increased in plantaris muscles of CA-treated animals, although total myoglobin per muscle was reduced slightly. Myoglobin levels were increased in plantaris muscles both as a result of training and CA, but citrate synthase activity was increased only as a result of the exercise. These results show that exercise can retard the glucocorticoid-induced muscle atrophy.

Length-dependent potentiation and myosin light chain phosphorylation in rat gastrocnemius muscle

1997 ◽  
Vol 273 (1) ◽  
pp. C198-C204 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Rassier ◽  
L. A. Tubman ◽  
B. R. MacIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Gastrocnemius Muscle ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Muscle Length ◽  
Repetitive Stimulation ◽  
Mammalian Skeletal Muscle ◽  
Optimal Length ◽  
Regulatory Light Chains ◽  
Dependent Change

Changes in muscle length affect the degree of staircase potentiation in skeletal muscle, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that length-dependent change in staircase is modulated by phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chains (RLC), since this is believed to be the main mechanism of potentiation. In situ isometric contractile responses of rat gastrocnemius muscle during 10 s of repetitive stimulation at 10 Hz were analyzed at optimal length (Lo), Lo - 10%, and Lo + 10%. The degree of enhancement of developed tension during 10 s of repetitive stimulation was observed to be length dependent, with increases of 118.5 +/- 7.8, 63.1 +/- 3.9, and 45.6 +/- 4.1% (means +/- SE) at Lo - 10%, Lo, and Lo + 10%, respectively. Staircase was accompanied by increases in the average rate of force development of 105.6 +/- 7.7, 55.6 +/- 4.1, and 37.2 +/- 4.4% for Lo - 10%, Lo, and Lo + 10%, respectively. RLC phosphorylation after 10 s of 10-Hz stimulation was higher than under resting conditions but not different among Lo - 10% (40 +/- 3.5%), Lo (35 +/- 3.5%), and Lo + 10% (41 +/- 3.5%). This study shows that there is a length dependence of staircase potentiation in mammalian skeletal muscle that may not be directly modulated by RLC phosphorylation. Interaction of RLC phosphorylation with length-dependent changes in Ca2+ release and intermyofilament spacing may explain these observations.

Repetitive paired stimulation of nasotrigeminal and peripheral chemoreceptor afferents cause progressive potentiation of the diving bradycardia

2009 ◽  
Vol 296 (1) ◽  
pp. R80-R87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Rozloznik ◽  
Julian F. R. Paton ◽  
Mathias Dutschmann
Keyword(s):  
Repetitive Stimulation ◽  
Breath Hold ◽  
Diving Response ◽  
Peripheral Chemoreceptor ◽  
Peripheral Chemoreceptors ◽  
Paired Stimulation ◽  
Neuronal Mechanisms ◽  
Working Heart ◽  
Stimulation Of

Hallmarks of the mammalian diving response are protective apnea and bradycardia. These cardiorespiratory adaptations can be mimicked by stimulation of the trigeminal ethmoidal nerve (EN5) and reflect oxygen-conserving mechanisms during breath-hold dives. Increasing drive from peripheral chemoreceptors during sustained dives was reported to enhance the diving bradycardia. The underlying neuronal mechanisms, however, are unknown. In the present study, expression and plasticity of EN5-bradycardias after paired stimulation of the EN5 and peripheral chemoreceptors was investigated in the in situ working heart-brain stem preparation. Paired stimulations enhanced significantly the bradycardic responses compared with EN5-evoked bradycardia using submaximal stimulation intensity. Alternating stimulations of the EN5 followed by paired stimulation of the EN5 and chemoreceptors (10 trials, 3-min interval) caused a progressive and significant potentiation of EN5-evoked diving bradycardia. In contrast, bradycardias during paired stimulation remained unchanged during repetitive stimulation. The progressive potentiation of EN5-bradycardias was significantly enhanced after microinjection of the 5-HT3 receptor agonist (CPBG hydrochloride) into the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), while the 5-HT3 receptor antagonist (zacopride hydrochloride) attenuated the progressive potentiation. These results suggest an integrative function of the NTS for the multimodal mediation of the diving response. The potentiation or training of a submaximal diving bradycardia requires peripheral chemoreceptor drive and involves neurotransmission via 5-HT3 receptor within the NTS.

scholarly journals Nonlinear summation of contractions in cat muscles. II. Later facilitation and stiffness changes.

1981 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Parmiggiani ◽  
R B Stein
Keyword(s):  
Soleus Muscle ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Short Interval ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Muscle Stiffness ◽  
Contraction Time ◽  
Plantaris Muscle ◽  
Twitch Contraction ◽  
Slow Twitch ◽  
Fast Twitch

The force produced by cat muscles over time with two stimuli separated by a short interval is approximately three times that produced by a twitch of cat muscles. This facilitation of force production by a second stimulus involves both increases in magnitude and duration of the contraction. Increased magnitude is relatively more important in the fast-twitch plantaris muscle, whereas increased duration is more important in the slow-twitch soleus muscle. The facilitation decays in an approximately exponential manner with the interval between stimuli, having a time constant between one and two times the twitch contraction time in different muscles. If a third stimulus is added, the greatest facilitation is seen at intervals longer than the twitch contraction time. The drug Dantrolene, which specifically reduces Ca++ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, eliminates the delayed peak in facilitation with three stimuli. Associated with the increases in force with one or more stimuli are increases in muscle stiffness, which can be measured with small, brief stretches and releases that do not alter the time-course of contraction. The stiffness of soleus muscle reaches a peak after the peak in force. The increasing stiffness of the muscle can considerably facilitate transmission of force generated internally, in addition to any facilitation arising from Ca++-release mechanisms.

Cumulative Effects of Glutamate Microstimulation on Ca2+ Responses of CA1 Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons in Slice

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Connor ◽  
Robert J. Cormier
Keyword(s):  
Time Course ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Stratum Radiatum ◽  
Neuron Death ◽  
Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Ca1 Neurons ◽  
Hippocampal Ca1 ◽  
High Resolution Images ◽  
Stimulation Of

Glutamate stimulation of hippocampal CA1 neurons in slice was delivered via iontophoresis from a microelectrode. Five pulses (∼5 μA, 10 s duration, repeated at 1 min intervals) were applied with the electrode tip positioned in the stratum radiatum near the dendrites of a neuron filled with the Ca2+ indicator fura-2. A single stimulus set produced Ca2+ elevations that ranged from several hundred nM to several μM and that, in all but a few neurons, recovered within 1 min of stimulus termination. Subsequent identical stimulation produced Ca2+ elevations that outlasted the local glutamate elevations by several minutes as judged by response recoveries in neighboring cells or in other parts of the same neuron. These long responses ultimately recovered but persisted for up to 10 min and were most prominent in the mid and distal dendrites. Recovery was not observed for responses that spread to the soma. The elevated Ca2+ levels were accompanied by membrane depolarization but did not appear to depend on the depolarization. High-resolution images demonstrated responsive areas that involved only a few μm of dendrite. Our results confirm the previous general findings from isolated and cell culture neurons that glutamate stimulation, if carried beyond a certain range, results in long-lasting Ca2+ elevation. The response characterized here in mature in situ neurons was significantly different in terms of time course and reversibility. We suggest that the extended Ca2+ elevations might serve not only as a trigger for delayed neuron death but, where more spatially restricted, as a signal for local remodeling in dendrites.

scholarly journals Investigating Occipito-temporal Contributions to Reading with TMS

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith J. Duncan ◽  
Chotiga Pattamadilok ◽  
Joseph T. Devlin
Keyword(s):  
Word Recognition ◽  
Visual Word Recognition ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Repetitive Stimulation ◽  
Visual Word ◽  
Lateral Occipital Complex ◽  
Lexical Status ◽  
Stimulation Of

The debate regarding the role of ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC) in visual word recognition arises, in part, from difficulty delineating the functional contributions of vOTC as separate from other areas of the reading network. Here, we investigated the feasibility of using TMS to interfere with vOTC processing in order to explore its specific contributions to visual word recognition. Three visual lexical decision experiments were conducted using neuronavigated TMS. The first demonstrated that repetitive stimulation of vOTC successfully slowed word, but not nonword, responses. The second confirmed and extended these findings by demonstrating the effect was specific to vOTC and not present in the adjacent lateral occipital complex. The final experiment used paired-pulse TMS to investigate the time course of vOTC processing for words and revealed activation starting as early as 80–120 msec poststimulus onset—significantly earlier than that expected based on electrophysiological and magnetoencephalography studies. Taken together, these results clearly indicate that TMS can be successfully used to stimulate parts of vOTC previously believed to be inaccessible and provide a new tool for systematically investigating the information processing characteristics of vOTC. In addition, the findings provide strong evidence that lexical status and frequency significantly affect vOTC processing, findings difficult to reconcile with prelexical accounts of vOTC function.

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