depolarizing


depolarizing

Capable of bringing about depolarization. Drugs that act at the junction between a nerve fibre and a muscle fibre to cause paralysis of the muscle (neuromuscular blocking agents) may be depolarizing or non-depolarizing. Depolarizing agents so affect the electrical charges at the interface that the nerve impulse can to be passed to the muscle fibre, but because the depolarization is maintained, the muscle, after the initial contraction, cannot continue to contract. Non-depolarizing agents such as curare act by combing with and blocking the nicotinic cholinergic receptors at the post-junctional membrane.