The sensitivity to glutamate of denervated muscles of the crayfish

The effect of denervation on the sensitivity of muscle fibres to glutamate was studied in leg muscles of crayfish.1. When the motor nerve was cut close to the proximal accessory flexor muscle the distal end of the nerve degenerated. Neuromuscular transmission failed and spontaneous miniature potentials disappeared after two months. Several stages of nerve terminal degeneration were seen in muscles denervated between 1 and 3 months, and after 4 months no remains of synapses could be found.2. Following denervation for periods up to 8 months there was no significant change in sensitivity to glutamate, a substance that mimics the action of the neural transmitter. Depolarizations produced by various concentrations of glutamate in the bathing solution were the same in denervated and control muscle fibres. Moreover, the sensitivity to iontophoretically applied glutamate was localized to discrete patches as in innervated muscles.3. Supersensitivity of muscles apparently does not occur after denervation in the crayfish.