[Changes in the electrogenic properties of striated muscle fibers during experimental botulism]

Changes in the electrical parameters of fibers of fast and slow muscles of rats during development of local botulism were studied. At the early stage of intoxication a decrease of the membrane potential of the fast and slow muscle fibers was found. At the stage of intoxication, alongside with an expressed membrane depolarization, there was a change of the input resistance, of the membrane electrical time constant, the threshold currents and the amplitude of action potentials, caused by direct intra-cell stimulation. Changes in the electrical parameters are more expressed in the fibers of the fast muscle.