Abstract
A model consisting of the parallel arrangement of one position-dependent and three first order velocity-dependent components is proposed in order to describe the behavior of muscle spindles. The responses of spindle receptors to ramp stretches have previously been characterized by fractional power functions; the aim of this study is to generate these functions on the basis of a simple additive linear model. A procedure is described which yields model parameters from responses to ramp and triangular displacements. Tests of the model are performed by comparing its predictions with experimental data from muscle spindles in cat and rat.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baumann, T.K., Hulliger, M.: Does the power law for the dynamic response of the cat muscle spindle hold up for slow stretches of intermediate amplitude? Neurosci. Lett. (Suppl.) 10, 64 (1982)
Brown, M.C., Stein, R.B.: Quantitative studies on the slowly adapting stretch receptor of the crayfish. Kybernetik 3, 175–185 (1966)
Chapman, K.M., Smith, R.S.: A linear transfer function underlying impulse frequency modulation in a cockroach mechanoreceptor. Nature 197, 699–700 (1963)
Crowe, A., Matthews, P.B.C.: The effects of stimulation on static and dynamic fusimotor fibres on the response to stretching of the primary endings of muscle spindles. J. Physiol. 174, 109–131 (1964)
Hasan, Z., Houk, J.C.: Transition in sensitivity of spindle receptors that occurs when muscle is stretched more than a fraction of a millimeter. J. Neurophysiol. 38, 673–689 (1975)
Houk, J.C., Rymer, W.Z., Crago, P.E.: Nature of the dynamic response and its relation to the high sensitivity of muscle spindles to small changes in length. In: Muscle Receptors and Movement, pp. 33–43, Taylor, A., Prochazka, A. (eds.). London: Macmillan 1981a
Houk, J.C., Rymer, W.Z., Crago, P.E.: Dependence of dynamic response of spindle receptors on muscle length and velocity. J. Neurophysiol. 46, 143–166 (1981b)
Hulliger, M., Matthews, P.B.C., Noth, J.: Static and dynamic fusimotor action on the response of Ia fibres to low frequency sinusoidal stretching of widely ranging amplitude. J. Physiol. (London) 267, 811–839 (1977)
Hunt, C.C., Wilkinson, R.S.: An analysis of receptor potential and tension of isolated cat muscle spindles in response to sinusoidal stretch. J. Physiol. (London) 302, 241–261 (1980)
Klüßendorf, D., Petsch, J.: Zähler liefern Kehrwert oder Logarithmus der Zeit. Elektronik 23, 88–90 (1980)
Lennerstrand, G.: Position and velocity sensitivity of muscle spindles in the cat. I. Primary and secondary endings deprived of fusimotor activation. Acta Physiol. Scand. 73, 281–299 (1968)
Lennerstrand, G., Thoden, U.: Dynamic analysis of muscle spindle endings in the cat using length changes of different length-time relations. Acta Physiol. Scand. 73, 234–250 (1968)
Matthews, P.B.C.: A critique of the paper by Houk, Rymer and Crago. In: Muscle Receptors and Movement, pp. 45–49, Taylor, A., Prochazka, A. (eds.). London: Macmillan 1981
Poppele, R.E., Bowman, R.J.: Quantitative description of linear behavior of mammalian muscle spindles. J. Neurophysiol. 33, 59–72 (1970)
Schäfer, S.-S.: The characteristic curves of the dynamic responses of primary muscle spindle endings in the absence and presence of stimulation of fusimotor fibres. Brain Res. 59, 395–399 (1973)
Thorson, J., Biederman-Thorson, M.: Distributed relaxation processes in sensory adaptation. Science 183, 161–172 (1974)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Daunicht, W.J. Re-examination of a linear systems approach to the behavior of mammalian muscle spindles. Biol. Cybern. 48, 85–90 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344391
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00344391