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Reflex Reversal in the Walking Systems of Mammals and Arthropods

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Neural Control of Movement

Summary

Recent investigations on cats, crabs, crayfish and insects have demonstrated that the reflex influence from some leg proprioceptors is reversed during locomotor activity. A general feature of this phenomenon is that the reversed reflex acts to reinforce the activity of motoneurones active during the stance phase of locomotion. In the cat, feedback from extensor group Ib afferents (arising from the force-sensitive Golgi tendon organs, GTOs) has an excitatory action on extensor motoneurones. This action of the GTOs during stance may function to regulate the level of activity in extensor motoneurones according to the load carried by the limb and/or to prevent the initiation of flexor burst activity when the extensor muscles are loaded. In arthropods, the reinforcing action of feedback from velocity sensitive afferents (chordotonal organs in crustacea and insects, and muscle receptor organs in crustacea) may regulate the speed of shortening of load bearing muscles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, T6G 2H7

    K. G. Pearson

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  1. K. G. Pearson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

    William R. Ferrell

  2. Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    Uwe Proske

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Pearson, K.G. (1995). Reflex Reversal in the Walking Systems of Mammals and Arthropods. In: Ferrell, W.R., Proske, U. (eds) Neural Control of Movement. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1985-0_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1985-0_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5818-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1985-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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