title: Effect of cocaine on responses of mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation.
abstract: Effects of 5 to 40 microM cocaine on the compound action potential (AP) and tension responses of the mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation were monitored following nerve and muscle stimulation at 37 degrees C. Cocaine caused concentration dependent reduction in amplitude of the nerve AP, muscle AP, and tension response to a single nerve stimulus, and greater reduction in amplitude of these responses to repetitive nerve stimuli at 100 Hz for 0.5 sec. Cocaine caused similar reduction in the muscle AP and tension responses to direct muscle stimulation in the presence or absence of curare, and markedly reduced the overshoot, total potential, and maximum rate of rise and fall of intracellularly recorded muscle AP, without affecting the resting potential, or the contracture responses evoked by caffeine. These results indicate that cocaine reduces skeletal muscle function by reducing the excitability of muscle and nerve membranes, without significantly affecting neuromuscular transmission, excitation-contraction coupling or contractility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York.
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Pagala
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Venkatachari
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herzlich
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ravindran
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Namba
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grob
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D003042:Cocaine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003472:Curare / Q000494:pharmacology; D003964:Diaphragm / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004576:Electromyography; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D003472:Curare; D003042:Cocaine