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Variability of Twitch Potentiation in Frog Skeletal Muscle

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Abstract

TWITCH responses of frog skeletal muscle can be potentiated, without any increase in peak tetanus responses, by many agents, for example, lyotropic anions1–3. The magnitude of twitch potentiation in these investigations varied considerably; but according to Hill and Macpherson (ref. 3, p. 88) “this cannot be avoided since the effect varies from muscle to muscle”. Recently, zinc also has been shown to act as a potentiator4–6. In these experiments, the potentiation (increment of twitch tension expressed as a percentage of the initial twitch tension) varied from 60 to 490 per cent. A major source of this variability is herein identified, and a control procedure is presented that should aid future potentiation studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Muscle Disease, Inc., New York, 21

    ALLEN ISAACSON

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  1. ALLEN ISAACSON
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ISAACSON, A. Variability of Twitch Potentiation in Frog Skeletal Muscle. Nature 196, 381–382 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/196381a0

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