Nerve-evoked maximal twitches (T1, T2, T3, T4) of the rat isolated hemidiaphragm to train-of-four (TOF) stimulation (2 Hz X 2 s) were recorded continuously in the absence or presence of tubocurarine (1.5 mumol/l), succinylcholine (40 mumol/l) or alpha-bungarotoxin (1 mumol/l). The T1 and T4 response-time profiles for the three drugs were analysed with respect to amplitude depression and the TOF ratio (T4/T1) during the development of and recovery from neuromuscular blockade. 2. Tubocurarine produced T1 block accompanied by intense TOF fade; for the same degree of T1 block, the TOF ratio was lower during the recovery from blockade after washing out tubocurarine from the bath than during the onset of blockade. There was also a correspondingly slower recovery of the TOF ratio from 90% T1 block to control levels when compared with the time for complete T1 recovery. Fade and twitch tension depression were shown clearly to be separate responses, each with its own response-time profile. Fade is therefore not simply a consequence of postjunctional cholinoceptor blockade. 3. Succinylcholine produced T1 block with only moderate TOF fade; similar recovery rates from 90% T1 block to control levels were obtained for T1 and the TOF ratio. 4. alpha-Bungarotoxin produced irreversible and complete neuromuscular blockade during which TOF fade was virtually absent. 5. The results obtained in this study closely resemble those from other similar studies in animals and in humans and clearly demonstrate that the rat isolated hemidiaphragm is a suitable in vitro model for time course studies on TOF fade.
