Abstract
Over the past several decades a number of roles have been suggested for the mammalian muscle spindle, for example as a feedback element in a follow-up length servo (Merton, 1953), in a servo-assisted system (Matthews, 1972; Stein, 1974) or in stiffness regulation (Houk and Rymer, 1981). Yet, no consensus was reached by over thirty correspondents in response to a target article on this subject (Stein, 1982). Is there a single role for muscle spindles or can they have a variety of roles? The considerable anatomical and physiological complexity of the mammalian muscle spindle which has emerged over this same period of time (reviewed by Matthews, 1981; Hulliger, 1984) certainly suggests that many roles are possible. However, in more stereotyped movements such as locomotion or other cyclic movements (e.g., mastication, respiration), a clear answer to this question may be found. This article reviews the work my colleagues and I have done over the past few years, which suggests a role for muscle spindles and the fusimotor system that control their behaviour. Space limitations preclude a comparison with recent work on other cyclic movements (cf., Gottlieb and Taylor, 1983; Greer and Stein, 1985).
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References
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© 1986 The Wenner-Gren Center
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Stein, R.B. (1986). The Roles of Muscle Spindles and the Fusimotor System in the Control of Locomotion. In: Grillner, S., Stein, P.S.G., Stuart, D.G., Forssberg, H., Herman, R.M. (eds) Neurobiology of Vertebrate Locomotion. Wenner-Gren Center International Symposium Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09148-5_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09148-5_38
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