Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate whether an individual Golgi tendon organ can signal the contraction of motor units with different physiological properties. The axonal conduction velocity and tetanic tension of motor units were examined in four muscles of the cat leg (peroneus brevis, peroneus longus, tibialis anterior and soleus). The motor units which were found to activate a given tendon organ had contractile properties dispersed over the same range as those of the whole muscle population. The proportion of tendon organ-activating motor units found in the studied samples suggests that altogether, the Golgi tendon organs of a muscle monitor the contraction of every motor unit in this muscle.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adrian, E.: The spread of activity in the tenuissimus muscle of the cat and in other complex muscles. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 60, 301–315 (1925)
Al-Amood, W.S., Pope, R.: A comparison of the structural features of muscle fibres from a fast and slow-twitch muscle of the pelvic limb of the cat. J. Anat. (Lond.) 113, 49–60 (1972)
Appelberg, B., Emonet-Dénand, F.: Motor units of the first superficial lumbrical muscle of the cat. J. Neurophysiol. 30, 154–160 (1967)
Ariano, M.A., Armstrong, R.B., Edgerton, V.R.: Hind limb muscle fiber populations of five mammals. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 21, 51–55 (1973)
Bagust, J.: Relationship between motor nerve conduction velocities and motor unit contraction characteristics in a slow-twitch muscle of the cat. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 238, 269–278 (1974)
Barker, D.: The structure and distribution of muscle receptors. In: Symposium on Muscle Receptors. (Ed. D. Barker), pp. 227–240. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press 1962
Barker, D.: The innervation of mammalian skeletal muscle. In: Ciba Foundation Symposium on Myotatic, Kinesthetic and Vestibular Mechanisms. (Eds. A.V.S. de Reuck, J. Knight), pp. 3–15. London: Churchill 1967
Barker, D., Stacey, M.J., Adal, M.N.: Fusimotor innervation in the cat. Phil. Trans. B 258, 315–346 (1970)
Bessou, P., Emonet-Dénand, F., Laporte, Y.: Relation entre la vitesse de conduction des fibres nerveuses motrices et le temps de contraction de leurs unités motrices. C. R. Acad. Sci. (Paris) 256, 5625–5627 (1963)
Boyd, I.A., Davey, M.R.: Composition of Peripheral Nerves. Edinburgh: Livingstone 1968
Burke, R.E., Levine, D.N., Tsairis, P., Zajac, F.E.: Physiological types and histochemical profiles in motor units of the cat gastrocnemius. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 234, 723–748 (1973)
Burke, R.E., Levine, D.N., Salcman, M., Tsairis, P.: Motor units in cat soleus muscle: physiological, histochemical and morphological characteristics. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 238, 503–514 (1974)
Edström, L., Kugelberg, E.: Histochemical composition, distribution of fibres and fatiguability of single motor units. Anterior tibial muscle of the rat. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat. 31, 424–433 (1968)
Eldred, E., Bridgman, C.F., Swett, J.E., Eldred, B.: Quantitative comparisons of muscle receptors of the cat's medial gastrocnemius, soleus and extensor digitorum brevis muscles. In: Symposium on Muscle Receptors. (Ed. D. Barker), pp. 207–213. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press 1962
Emonet-Dénand, F., Jami, L., Laporte, Y.: Skeleto-fusimotor axons in hind-limb muscles of the cat. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 249, 153–166 (1975)
Emonet-Dénand, F., Laporte, Y., Proske, U.: Contraction of muscle fibers in two adjacent muscles innervated by branches of the same motor axon. J. Neurophysiol. 34, 132–138 (1971)
Gauthier, G.F.: Fiber types in mammalian skeletal muscle and their relationship to functional activity. In: Advances in Muscle Biology. (Ed. A. M. Pearson), Vol. 2. Michigan State University (in press, 1975)
Green, D.G., Kellerth, J.O.: Intracellular autogenetic and synergetic effects of muscular contraction on flexor motoneurones. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 193, 73–94 (1967)
Henneman, E., Somjen, G., Carpenter, D.O.: Functional significance of cell size in spinal motoneurons. J. Neurophysiol. 28, 560–580 (1965)
Houk, J., Henneman, E.: Responses of Golgi tendon organs to active contraction of the soleus muscle of the cat. J. Neurophysiol. 30, 466–481 (1967)
Jami, L., Petit, J.: Correlation between axonal conduction velocity and tetanic tension of motor units in four muscles of the cat hind limb. Brain Res. 96, 114–118 (1975)
Matthews, B.H.C.: Nerve endings in mammalian muscle. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 78, 1–53 (1933)
Stephens, J.A., Stuart, D.G.: The responses of Golgi tendon organs to contraction of single motor units in a mixed mammalian muscle. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 242, 62–63P (1974)
Stuart, D.G., Goslow, G.E., Mosher, C.G., Reinking, R.M.: Stretch responsiveness of Golgi tendon organs. Exp. Brain Rss. 10, 463–476 (1970)
Stuart, D.G., Mosher, C.G., Gerlach, R.L., Rienking, R.M.: Mechanical arrangement and transducing properties of Golgi tendon organs. Exp. Brain Res. 14, 274–292 (1972)
Swett, J.E., Eldred, E.: Distribution and numbers of stretch receptors in medial gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the cat. Anat. Rec. 137, 453–460 (1960)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jami, L., Petit, J. Heterogeneity of motor units activating single Golgi tendon organs in cat leg muscles. Exp Brain Res 24, 485–493 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234965
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234965