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Encyclopedia of Neuroscience pp 3219–3221Cite as

Postural Muscle Tone

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Definition

Postural tone is the steady contraction of muscles that are necessary to hold different parts of the skeleton in proper relation to the various and constantly changing attitudes and postures of the body.

Description of the Theory

Decerebrate Posture

Because postural muscle tone is completely suppressed by narcosis, postural tone has mainly been studied using an experimental model called the decerebrate animal [1]. In the decerebration of mammals, the cerebral cortex and thalamus are surgically inactivated by intercollicular cross-section of the brain stem under general anesthesia. Once the effects of the anesthesia have dissipated, the condition known as “decerebrate rigidity” can be seen. This condition is characterized by a strong extended neck, trunk, tail and limbs, which resist attempts to flex them. In decerebrate rigidity, there is no sensation of pain. Because of this rigidity, when the decerebrate cat is placed on its four limbs, tension in the limb muscles is...

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References

  1. Sherrington CS (1898) Decerebrate rigidity and reflex coordination of movements. J Physiol 22:319–332

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurological Sciences Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Victor S. Gurfinkel

Authors
  1. Victor S. Gurfinkel
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Marc D. Binder

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine University of Tokyo Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Nobutaka Hirokawa

  3. Göttingen, Germany

    Uwe Windhorst

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag GmbH Berlin Heidelberg

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Gurfinkel, V.S. (2009). Postural Muscle Tone. In: Binder, M.D., Hirokawa, N., Windhorst, U. (eds) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_4711

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