The Virtual Twitch

The Virtual Twitch is a simulation of the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation, used to the study the actions of neuromuscular blocking and reversal agents, and other drugs which affect neuromuscular transmission. The hemidiaphraghm is a large, focally innervated, respiratory skeletal muscle, composed of fast-type muscle fibres. Electrical stimulation of the phrenic nerve evokes fast, shorting-lasting muscle twitches.