Electromagnetic stimulation blocks isometric twitch contraction in the frog sciatic nerve - gastrocnemius muscle preparation

Abstract

The effect of electromagnetic stimulation (EMS) on nerve conduction and muscle twitch contraction was studied in isolated sciatic nerve-gastrocnemius muscle of the frog. Electrical stimulation (ES) of the sciatic nerve produced twitch contractions in the gastrocnemius muscle and these responses were reduced and eventually blocked by EMS, applied to the nerve simultaneously with ES, from a d.c. source at a certain frequency and duration of the induced current. The EMS- induced inhibition of the twitch contractions was reversible, and this depended on the induced current and its duration. The possibility that other factors may have contributed to the inhibition of twitch contractions, such as a rise in temperature, was also investigated. It was concluded that EMS inhibited indirectly- elicited twitch contractions produced by ES in the frog nerve- muscle preparation.