Nonlinear summation of contractions in cat muscles. II. Later facilitation and stiffness changes.

The force produced by cat muscles over time with two stimuli separated by a short interval is approximately three times that produced by a twitch of cat muscles. This facilitation of force production by a second stimulus involves both increases in magnitude and duration of the contraction. Increased magnitude is relatively more important in the fast-twitch plantaris muscle, whereas increased duration is more important in the slow-twitch soleus muscle. The facilitation decays in an approximately exponential manner with the interval between stimuli, having a time constant between one and two times the twitch contraction time in different muscles. If a third stimulus is added, the greatest facilitation is seen at intervals longer than the twitch contraction time. The drug Dantrolene, which specifically reduces Ca++ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, eliminates the delayed peak in facilitation with three stimuli. Associated with the increases in force with one or more stimuli are increases in muscle stiffness, which can be measured with small, brief stretches and releases that do not alter the time-course of contraction. The stiffness of soleus muscle reaches a peak after the peak in force. The increasing stiffness of the muscle can considerably facilitate transmission of force generated internally, in addition to any facilitation arising from Ca++-release mechanisms.