Research Description

This cell physiology laboratory studies excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in vertebrate skeletal muscle and the role of the calcium ion (Ca) as an intracellular chemical messenger. The methodology relies on optical, electrical and mechanical measurements from living single muscle fibers. Current work tests hypotheses about calcium and E-C coupling in a number of vertebrate fiber types, including twitch fibers of frog, slow-twitch and fast twitch fibers of mouse, and superfast fibers of fish.