Analysis of frog neuromuscular function at hyperbaric pressures.
Nerve and muscle compound action potentials were measured in the frog sciatic nerve-gastrocnemius muscle preparation in a hyperbaric helium-air environment. Helium pressure to 69 ATA induced a reversible depression in muscle compound action potential amplitude without significantly affecting other parameters. Blockade other parameters. Blockade induced by tetraethylammonium while at pressure could be partially reversed by decompression. A desensitization-type of neuromuscular block produced at pressure after neostigmine infusion could also be partially reversed by decompression. These results suggest a possible involvement of the acetylcholine receptor complex in pressure-induced depression of synaptic transmission.
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000502:physiology; D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura; D006371:Helium; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation; D009388:Neostigmine / Q000494:pharmacology; D013569:Synapses / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects; D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology
D013757:Tetraethylammonium Compounds; D006371:Helium; D009388:Neostigmine; D000109:Acetylcholine