The results indicated that the mixture of clonidine and yohimbine, in which either drug inhibited impulse conduction, produced conduction block in an additive manner, and that clonidine-induced conduction block was not reversed by coapplication with a specific alpha(2)-adrenergic antagonist idazoxan. These data suggest that clonidine's effects likely depend on mechanisms not mediated by alpha(2)-adrenergic receptors.