Abstract
It is usually assumed that muscle spindles function in essentially the same way in humans and cats. Indeed, there was disquiet when, on comparing afferent activity from spindles during voluntary movements in awake humans and cats, human spindles could not be made to behave like cat spindles (Hagbarth, 1981; Vallbo, 1981). Primary and secondary afferent activity during passive muscle stretching is similar in humans and cats (Poppele & Kennedy, 1974; Newsom Davis, 1975). The efferent supply of human spindles can be stimulated in intramuscular nerves while monitoring the movement of the intrafusal muscle fibres (Gladden et al., 1982) by using techniques developed to study the effects of fusimotor stimulation on cat intrafusal fibres in vitro (Boyd & Ward, 1975). The results suggest that human spindles have dynamic and static fusimotor axons which the central nervous system can activate independently.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Boyd, I.A. & Ward, J. (1975). Motor control of nuclear bag and nuclear chain intrafusal fibres in isolated living muscle spindles from the cat. J. Physiol. 244, 83–112.
Boyd, I.A., Gladden, M.H., McWilliam, P.N. & Ward, J. (1977). Control of dynamic and static nuclear bag fibres by gamma and beta axons in isolated cat muscle spindles. J. Physiol. 265, 133–162.
Cooper, S. & Daniel, P.M. (1963). Muscle spindles in man; their morphology in the lumbricals and the deep muscles of the neck. Brain 86, 563–586.
Gladden, M.H., Smith, A. & Wilson, J. (1982). Excitation of fusimotor axons of isolated primate muscle spindles. J. Physiol. 328, 6–7P.
Gladden, M.H., Wallace, W. & Craigen, M.L. (1985). Movement convergence and motor end plate location in a human muscle spindle. In The Muscle Spindle. (eds. I.A. Boyd and M.H. Gladden). Macmillan, London, pp115–120.
Hagbarth, K.E. (1981). A critique of the papers by Loeb and Hoffer; and Prochazka and Wand. In Muscle Receptors and Movement. (eds. A. Taylor and A. Prochazka). Macmillan, London, pp245–247.
Hunt, C.C. & Ottoson, D. (1975). Impulse activity and receptor potential of primary and secondary endings of isolated mammalian muscle spindles. J. Physiol. 252, 259–281.
Jami, L., Lan-Couton, D., Malmgren, K. & Petit, J. (1979). Histophysiological observations on fast skeleto-fusimotor axons. Brain Res. 164, 53–59.
Newsom Davis, J. (1975). The response to stretch of human intracostal muscle spindles studied in vitro. J. Physiol. 249, 561–580.
Poppele, R.E. & Kennedy, W.R. (1974). Comparison between behaviour of human and cat muscle spindles recorded in vitro. Brain Res. 75, 316–319.
Vallbo, A. (1981). A critique of the papers by Loeb and Hoffer; and Prochazka and Wand. In Muscle Receptors and Movement. (eds. A. Taylor and A. Prochazka). Macmillan, London, pp249–255.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1985 I. A. Boyd and M. H. Gladden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gladden, M.H. (1985). Efferent control of human muscle spindles. In: Boyd, I.A., Gladden, M.H. (eds) The Muscle Spindle. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-07695-6_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-07695-6_21
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-07697-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-07695-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)