Skip to main content

Neurophysiological Mechanisms Underlying Proprioceptive Sensations

  • Conference paper
Clinical Aspects of Sensory Motor Integration

Part of the book series: Advances in Applied Neurological Sciences ((NEUROLOGICAL,volume 4))

Abstract

The term “cutaneous sensibility” can be defined unambiguously, and the relevant peripheral receptors are easily identified. By contrast, the terms “proprioception” and “kinaesthesia” are now commonly used interchangeably without full regard for the nuances of meaning given them by their originators, Sherrington and Bastian respectively (for discussion see [14, 31]), and there is no agreement on the relevant receptors and neural mechanisms. Proprioception and kinaesthesia are taken to include the sensations of joint position and movement along with the sensations of force and apparent heaviness which accompany active muscular contraction. Besides the lack of terminological clarity, understanding about this group of sensations has been hampered by continual disagreement about the role of specific classes of peripheral receptors which could contribute to it. Much previous debate has been discussed by McCloskey [31].

Preparation of this chapter was completed in June, 1985.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Angel R (1980) Barognosis in an patient with hemiataxia. Ann Neurol 7: 73–77

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Barrack RL, Skinner HB, Brunet ME, Haddad RJ (1983 a) Functional performance of the knee after intraarticular anesthesia. Am J Sports Med 11: 258–261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Barrack RL, Skinner HB, Cook SD, Haddad RJ (1983 b) Effect of articular disease and total knee arthroplasty on knee joint-position sense. J Neurophysiol 50: 684–687

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Browne K, Lee J, Ring PA (1954) The sensation of passive movement at the metatarso-phalangeai joint. J Physiol (Lond) 126: 448–458

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cafarelli E, Bigland-Ritchie B (1979) Sensation of static force in muscles of different length. Exp Neurol 65: 511–525

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Clark FJ, Horch KW, Bach SM, Larson GF (1979 a) Contribution of cutaneous and joint receptors to static knee-position sense in man. J Neurophysiol 42: 878–888

    Google Scholar 

  7. Clark FJ, Matthews PBC, Muir RB (1979 b) Effect of the amplitude of muscle vibration on the subjectively experienced illusion of movement. J Physiol (Lond) 296: 14–15 P

    Google Scholar 

  8. Craske B (1977) Perception of impossible limb positions induced by tendon vibration. Science 196: 71–73

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Cross MJ, McCloskey DI (1973) Position sense following surgical removal of joints in man Brain Res 55: 443–445

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Devanandan MS, Ghosh S, Simoes EAF (1980) The myelinated fibers of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve at the wrist in bonnet monkeys (Macaca radiata) and some of its branches to the hand. Anat Rec 197: 387–396

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Eklund G (1972) Position sense and state of contraction: the effects of vibration. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 35: 606–611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gandevia SC (1978) The sensation of heaviness after surgical disconnection of the cerebral hemispheres in man. Brain 101: 295–305

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Gandevia SC (1982) The perception of motor commands or effort during muscular paralysis. Brain 105: 151–159

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Gandevia SC (1983) Psychophysical and electrophysiological evidence for the cortical projection of muscle afferents in man. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmac Soc 14: 241–259

    Google Scholar 

  15. Gandevia SC (1985) Illusory movements produced by stimulation of low-threshold muscle afferents from the hand. Brain 108

    Google Scholar 

  16. Gandevia SC, McCloskey DI (1976) Joint sense, muscle sense, and their combination as position sense, measured at the distal interphalangeal joint of the middle finger. J Physiol (Lond) 260: 387–407

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Gandevia SC, McCloskey DI (1977) Sensations of heaviness. Brain 100: 345–354

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Gandevia SC, McCloskey DI (1978) Interpretation of perceived motor commands by reference to afferent signals. J Physiol (Lond) 283: 493–499

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Gandevia SC, Burke D, McKeon B (1984) The projection of muscle afferents from the hand to cerebral cortex in man. Brain 107: 1–13

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Gandevia SC, Hall LA, McCloskey DI, Potter EK (1983) Proprioceptive sensation at the terminal joint of the middle finger. J Physiol (Lond) 335: 507–517

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Gandevia SC, Killian KJ, Campbell EJM (1981) The effect of respiratory muscle fatigue on respiratory sensations. Clin Sci 60: 463–466

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Gelfan S, Carter S (1967) Muscle sense in man. Expl Neurol 18: 448–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Goodwin GM, McCloskey DI, Matthews PBC (1972) The contribution of muscle afferents to kinaesthesia shown by vibration-induced illusions of movement and by the effects of paralysing joint afferents. Brain 95: 705–748

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Grigg P, Finerman GA, Riley LH (1973) Joint position sense after total hip replacement. J Bone Joint Surg 55A: 1016–1025

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Hobbs SF, Gandevia SC (1985) Cardiovascular responses and the sense of effort during attempted muscular contractions: role of the spinal cord. Neurosci Lett 57: 83–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Holmes G (1922) The Croonian Lectures on the clinical symptoms of cerebellar disease and their interpretation. Lecture IV. Lancet II: 111–115

    Google Scholar 

  27. Jones LA (1983) Role of central and peripheral signals in force sensation during fatigue. Exp Neurol 81: 497–503

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Karanjia PN, Ferguson JH (1983) Passive joint position sense after total hip replacement surgery. Ann Neurol 13: 654–657

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Kelso JAS, Holt KG (1980) The role of proprioception in the perception and control of human movement: toward a theoretical assessment. Percept Psychophys 28: 45–52

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. McCloskey DI (1973) Differences between the sense of movement and position shown by the effects of loading and vibration of muscles in man. Brain Res 61: 119–131

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. McCloskey DI (1978) Kinesthetic sensibility. Physiol Rev 58: 763–820

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. McCloskey DI (1981) Corollary discharges: motor commands and perception. In: Brooks VB (ed) Handbook of physiology. I. The nervous system. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, pp 1415–1448

    Google Scholar 

  33. McCloskey DI, Ebeling P, Goodwin GM (1974) Estimation of weights and tensions and apparent involvement of a “sense of effort”. Exp Neurol 42: 220–232

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. McCloskey DI, Colebatch JG, Potter EK, Burke D (1983 a) Judgements about onset of rapid voluntary movements in man. J Neurophysiol 49: 851–863

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. McCloskey DI, Cross MJ, Honner R, Potter EK (1983 b) Sensory effects of pulling or vibrating exposed tendons in man. Brain 106: 21–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. McCloskey DI, Ferrell WR, Gandevia SC (1985) Contribution from joint receptors to detection of movements imposed on the finger joint while muscle afferents cannot contribute. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmac Soc 16: 34 P

    Google Scholar 

  37. McKeon B, Burke D (1983) Muscle spindle discharge in response to contraction of single motor units. J Neurophysiol 49: 291–302

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Matthews PBC (1982) Where does Sherrington’s “muscular sense” originate? Muscles, joints, corollary discharges. Ann Rev Neurosci 5: 189–219

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Matthews PBC, Simmonds A (1974) Sensations of finger movement elicited by pulling upon flexor tendons in man. J Physiol (Lond) 239: 27–28 P

    Google Scholar 

  40. Moberg E (1983) The role of cutaneous afferents in position sense, kinaesthesia, and motor function of the hand. Brain 106: 1–19

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Ochoa J, Torebjörk E (1983) Sensations evoked by intraneural microstimulation of single mechanoreceptive units innervating the human hand. J Physiol (Lond) 342: 633–654

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Provins KA (1958) The effect of peripheral nerve block on the appreciation and execution of finger movements. J Physiol (Lond) 143: 55–67

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Roland PE, Ladegaard-Pedersen H (1977) A quantitative analysis of sensations of tension and kinaesthesia in man. Brain 100: 671–692

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Roll JP, Vedel JP (1982) Kinaesthetic role of muscle afferents in man, studied by tendon vibration and microneurography. Exp Brain Res 47: 177–190

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Simon J, Wei JY, Randic M, Burgess PR (1984) Signaling of ankle joint position by receptors in different muscles. Somatosens Res 2: 127–147

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Tardy-Gervet MF, Gilhodes JC, Roll JP (1982) Demonstration of an illusory limb movement and associated motor activities induced by a moving visual stimulus in man. A descriptive study. Neurosci Lett 28: 187–192

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Vallbo AB, Olsson KA, Westberg K-G, Clark FJ (1984) Microstimulation of single tactile afferents from the human hand. Sensory attributes related to unit type and properties of receptive fields. Brain 107: 727–749

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Gandevia, S.C. (1987). Neurophysiological Mechanisms Underlying Proprioceptive Sensations. In: Struppler, A., Weindl, A. (eds) Clinical Aspects of Sensory Motor Integration. Advances in Applied Neurological Sciences, vol 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71540-2_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71540-2_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-71542-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-71540-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics