Contractile Activation in Frog Skeletal Muscle

Contractile activation was studied in frog single muscle fibers treated with tetrodotoxin to block action potentials. The membrane potential in a short segment of the fiber was controlled with a two-electrode voltage clamp, and the contractile response of superficial myofibrils in this segment was observed microscopically. The strength-duration relation for contractile activation was similar to that reported by Adrian, Chandler, and Hodgkin (1969); at 3.9 degrees C, the contraction threshold was -44 mV for long depolarizing pulses (100-ms) and increased to +64 mV for 2-ms depolarizations. Hyperpolarizing postpulses shifted the threshold for 2-ms pulses to more positive values, and a similar, but smaller, effect was produced by hyperpolarizing prepulses. The decay of excitability following subthreshold pulses showed two apparently distinct components; at 3.9 degrees C, excitability fell to 50% of its initial value within 4 ms, while the subsequent decline of excitability proceeded with a half-time of about 20 ms.