Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Physiology logoLink to The Journal of Physiology
. 1976 Oct;261(3):633–645. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011578

Frequency of tendon organ discharges elicited by the contraction of motor units in cat leg muscles.

L Jami, J Petit
PMCID: PMC1309164  PMID: 978590

Abstract

1. The responses elicited in individual tendon organs by the contraction of single motor units were studied in peroneus longus, peroneus brevis, tibialis anterior and soleus muscles. 2. No simple relation was found between the discharge frequency of a tendon organ and the tension produced in the muscle tendon by the contraction of individual motor units. 3. The sensitivity of a given tendon organ to contractile tension was not the same for each of the motor units which elicited its discharge. There was no correlation between the sensitivity of the receptor and the strength of the motor units. 4. Upon repetitive stimulation of a tendon-organ-activating motor unit at increasing rates, the frequency of the receptor sustained discharge reached a maximal value for rates of stimulation eliciting submaximal tetanic tension. Higher rates only produced an increase in the dynamic component of the tendon organ response. 5. These observations show that the contractile tension sensed by a tendon organ is not a simple fraction of the tension which appears at the muscle tendon. They might be accounted for as consequences of the fine structure of tendon organs and of variations in the number of muscle fibres contributed by different motor units to the bundle inserted on each receptor. The location of most tendon organs at musculo-aponeurotic junctions rather than in the tendon proper, could also be responsible for some of the observed discrepancies.

Full text

PDF
633

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BULLER A. J., LEWIS D. M. THE RATE OF TENSION DEVELOPMENT IN ISOMETRIC TETANIC CONTRACTIONS OF MAMMALIAN FAST AND SLOW SKELETAL MUSCLE. J Physiol. 1965 Feb;176:337–354. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1965.sp007554. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bridgman C. F. Comparisons in structure of tendon organs in the rat, cat and man. J Comp Neurol. 1970 Mar;138(3):369–372. doi: 10.1002/cne.901380308. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bridgman C. F. The structure of tendon organs in the cat: a proposed mechanism for responding to muscle tension. Anat Rec. 1968 Oct;162(2):209–220. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091620208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Burke R. E., Levine D. N., Salcman M., Tsairis P. Motor units in cat soleus muscle: physiological, histochemical and morphological characteristics. J Physiol. 1974 May;238(3):503–514. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1974.sp010540. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Burke R. E. Motor unit types of cat triceps surae muscle. J Physiol. 1967 Nov;193(1):141–160. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1967.sp008348. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Burke R. E., Tsairis P. Anatomy and innervation ratios in motor units of cat gastrocnemius. J Physiol. 1973 Nov;234(3):749–765. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1973.sp010370. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Green D. G., Kellerth J. O. Intracellular autogenetic and synergistic effects of muscular contraction on flexor motoneurones. J Physiol. 1967 Nov;193(1):73–94. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1967.sp008344. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Gregory J. E., Proske U. Responses of tendon organs in a lizard. J Physiol. 1975 Jun;248(2):519–529. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp010986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. HUNT C. C., KUFFLER S. W. Stretch receptor discharges during muscle contraction. J Physiol. 1951 Apr;113(2-3):298–315. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1951.sp004573. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Houk J. C., Singer J. J., Henneman E. Adequate stimulus for tendon organs with observations on mechanics of ankle joint. J Neurophysiol. 1971 Nov;34(6):1051–1065. doi: 10.1152/jn.1971.34.6.1051. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Houk J., Henneman E. Responses of Golgi tendon organs to active contractions of the soleus muscle of the cat. J Neurophysiol. 1967 May;30(3):466–481. doi: 10.1152/jn.1967.30.3.466. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Houk J., Simon W. Responses of Golgi tendon organs to forces applied to muscle tendon. J Neurophysiol. 1967 Nov;30(6):1466–1481. doi: 10.1152/jn.1967.30.6.1466. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. JANSEN J. K., RUDJORD T. ON THE SILENT PERIOD AND GOLGI TENDON ORGANS OF THE SOLEUS MUSCLE OF THE CAT. Acta Physiol Scand. 1964 Dec;62:364–379. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.1964.tb10435.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Jami L., Petit J. Etude de la fréquence de décharge des organes tendineux provoquée par la contraction d'unités motrices chez le Chat. C R Acad Sci Hebd Seances Acad Sci D. 1975 Apr 14;280(14):1721–1724. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Jami L., Petit J. Heterogeneity of motor units activating single Golgi tendon organs in cat leg muscles. Exp Brain Res. 1976 Mar 15;24(5):485–493. doi: 10.1007/BF00234965. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. MCPHEDRAN A. M., WUERKER R. B., HENNEMAN E. PROPERTIES OF MOTOR UNITS IN A HOMOGENEOUS RED MUSCLE (SOLEUS) OF THE CAT. J Neurophysiol. 1965 Jan;28:71–84. doi: 10.1152/jn.1965.28.1.71. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Matthews B. H. Nerve endings in mammalian muscle. J Physiol. 1933 Apr 13;78(1):1–53. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1933.sp002984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rack P. M., Westbury D. R. The effects of length and stimulus rate on tension in the isometric cat soleus muscle. J Physiol. 1969 Oct;204(2):443–460. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1969.sp008923. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Reinking R. M., Stephens J. A., Stuart D. G. The tendon organs of cat medial gastrocnemius: significance of motor unit type and size for the activation of Ib afferents. J Physiol. 1975 Sep;250(3):491–512. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1975.sp011067. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. SWETT J. E., ELDRED E. Distribution and numbers of stretch rceptors in medial gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the cat. Anat Rec. 1960 Aug;137:453–460. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091370405. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Schoultz T. W., Swett J. E. The fine structure of the Golgi tendon organ. J Neurocytol. 1972 Jul;1(1):1–26. doi: 10.1007/BF01098642. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Stauffer E. K., Stephens J. A. The tendon organs of cat soleus: static sensitivity to active force. Exp Brain Res. 1975 Sep 29;23(3):279–291. doi: 10.1007/BF00239740. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Sturart D. G., Mosher C. G., Gerlach R. I., Reinking R. M. Mechanical arrangement and transducing properties of Golgi tendon organs. Exp Brain Res. 1972;14(3):274–292. doi: 10.1007/BF00816163. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Swett J. E., Schoultz T. W. Mechanical transduction in the Golgi tendon organ: a hypothesis. Arch Ital Biol. 1975 Dec;113(4):374–382. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Physiology are provided here courtesy of The Physiological Society

RESOURCES