Ionic permeability changes induced by some cholinergic agonists on normal and denervated frog muscles.

1. The reversal potential of responses to iontophoretic application of acetylcholine, carbamylcholine and decamethonium has been measured at junctional and extrajunctional sensitive areas of the normal sartorius muscle of the frog.2. The values obtained with any one of the drugs at junctional spots were similar to those previously reported for the end-plate potential (about - 16 mV).3. On the other hand, at extrajunctional areas the reversal potential of responses to these agonists was found to have a mean value of - 42 mV. The muscle-tendon responses to acetylcholine reversed at - 51 mV.4. The response to decamethonium was used to determine the nature of the ionic permeability changes mediated by the extrajunctional receptors. The results obtained show that extrajunctional responses are due to an increase in conductance to Na(+) and K(+) but not to Cl(-).5. The reversal potential of acetylcholine responses in denervated frog sartorius was - 42 mV both at former junctional spots and at non-neural sensitized regions.6. These different values of the reversal potential can be due either to effects of receptor density on the ionic selectivity of the membrane or to regional variations in the extracellular ionic accumulation during the transmitter action.