Figure 3.

The final common input hypothesis.²⁴ Peripheral receptors from cutaneous, muscle (Golgi tendon organs and muscle spindle afferents), and articular tissues, as well as descending commands from supraspinal areas, converge onto the static and dynamic γ motor neurons. Collectively, all of these influences alter the sensitivity of muscle spindles; thus, the final afferent signals arising from the muscle spindles can be considered a function of both the preceding influential activity and muscle length.