Summary
The reflex response firing pattern of spinal alpha motoneuronal units due to low amplitude and high frequency vibration of the muscle, and concomitant stimulation of the peripheral stump of the cut ventral root, were investigated in decerebrated cats.
The threshold for firing of motoneuronal units across the gamma loop was lowered when vibration of the muscle was applied together with fusimotor stimulation. Vibration of the muscle, when applied together with long-term stimulation of the peripheral stump of the cut ventral root, revealed the presence of gamma system influence through the loop, even when a considerable number of gamma motor fibres had not yet been excited. Thus, the extent of gamma influence through the loop during extrafusal contraction was higher when the spindles were excited by vibration of the muscle than was the case when ventral root stimulation was applied separately.
These results may serve as an estimate of the ability of the gamma loop to act against changes in muscle length.
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Anastasijević, R., Vučo, J. Motoneuronal reflex firing during vibration of the muscle and gamma loop activation. Pflugers Arch. 333, 227–239 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00592685
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00592685