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Changes of Length within the Frog Muscle Spindle during Stretch as shown by Stroboscopic Photomicroscopy

Abstract

THE impulse response of the muscle spindle to an applied stretch consists of a dynamic discharge during the phase of increase in length, followed by a static discharge while stretch is maintained at a steady level1–3. The underlying receptor potential shows corresponding characteristics : a rapid dynamic rise followed by a decay to a static level (Fig. 1)2,4. This differentiation of the response into two separate components may be explained as the result of structural differences between the central and the polar zones of the intrafusal muscle fibres1,5–7. The dynamic component would arise in the central zone, which seems to be the more elastic, while the static phase of the response would be generated in the more viscous polar regions. At present there is, however, no direct evidence for a mechanical differentiation of the response.

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OTTOSON, D., SHEPHERD, G. Changes of Length within the Frog Muscle Spindle during Stretch as shown by Stroboscopic Photomicroscopy. Nature 220, 912–914 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220912a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220912a0

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