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Fractionation of the Motor Unit during Repetitive Response to Prostigmine

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Abstract

RECENT work has demonstrated fractionation of the action potential of the single motor unit of the rat gastrocnemius into anatomically unidentified sub-units1. The temporal sequence of firing of these sub-units can be altered by intravenous administration of curare or decamethonium. These drugs, by reducing the end-plate potential, increase the latency of appearance of the propagated spike of some, but not all, of the sub-units which comprise the action potential of the single motor unit. When the time of rise for the end-plate potential of the sub-unit is sufficiently prolonged, the propagated spike of the sub-unit disappears2, and the total unit potential is reduced. In order to evaluate the effect of prostigmine on the single motor unit, the work reported here was undertaken.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurological Unit, Boston City Hospital,

    SIMEON LOCKE

  2. Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.

    SIMEON LOCKE

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  1. SIMEON LOCKE
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LOCKE, S. Fractionation of the Motor Unit during Repetitive Response to Prostigmine. Nature 190, 452–453 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/190452b0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/190452b0

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