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Journal Article•DOI•

Interactions between voluntary and postural mechanisms of thehuman motor system.

01 May 1970-Journal of Neurophysiology (American Physiological Society)-Vol. 33, Iss: 3, pp 365-381
About: This article is published in Journal of Neurophysiology.The article was published on 1970-05-01. It has received 188 citations till now.
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Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is confirmed that most subjects can suppress triggered reactions when the instruction calls for no intervention, leaving an unmodified reflex response, which implies the existence of and compensation for nonlinear muscle mechanical properties.
Abstract: 1. The stretch reflex in the elbow flexor musculature was studied in 23 human subjects. The subjects were required to establish an initial force equivalent to 10% maximum at a prescribed initial length; mechanical disturbances delivered at random times increased load force to 15% or reduced it to 5%. We measured arm force, displacement, and EMG (usually biceps); acceleration was calculated from displacement, and average responses from sets of 10 like trials. 2. Modification of the stretch reflex was studied by comparing average responses obtained with different instructions, but with the same disturbance. The usual introductions were "compensate for arm deflection" and "do not intervene voluntarily". The initial response did not depend on instruction; changes in response that depended on instruction began abruptly after a latent period which ranged from 70 to 320 ms (measured from force and acceleration), depending on conditions and subject. The latency became longer (10-50 ms) and more variable when the subject did not know the direction of disturbance in advance. This and other observations indicate that modifications of the stretch reflex are not produced by servo actions. They are produced by triggered reactions, which occur at both short and long latencies and which have properties resembling the movements produced in a reaction-time task. 3. We confirmed that most subjects can suppress triggered reactions when the instruction calls for no intervention, leaving an unmodified reflex response. This response consists of a compliant deflection of the arm in the direction of the disturbance. 4. The compensatory actions associated with unmodified stretch (and unloading) reflexes were assessed from EMG responses of biceps. During a 300-ms transient phase, EMG changes were notably asymmetric when responses to symmetric disturbances were compared. Increased force stretched biceps and produced a prominent increase in EMG, whereas decreased force allowed biceps to shorten and produced either an EMG decrease of smaller magnitude or an actual increase. These asymmetric reflex actions produced quite symmetric mechanical responses (arm displacements and forces), which implies the existence of and compensation for nonlinear muscle mechanical properties. This result is discussed in relation to the hypothesis that the function of the stretch reflex is to compensate for variations in muscle properties, thus maintaining stiffness. 5. Effective control of muscle length or joint position does not result from servo action by the stretch reflex. Errors in position are corrected only when triggered reactions are superimposed on the reflex response.

644 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Arthur Prochazka1•

563 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: It is concluded that the control of presynaptic inhibition of I a fibres at the onset of movement may be organized to aid in achieving selectivity of muscle activation, i.e. so as to increase motor contrast.
Abstract: 1. Two independent methods were used, in man, to assess changes in presynaptic inhibition of I a terminals at the onset of selective voluntary contractions: (1) measurement of the amount of heteronymous monosynaptic I a facilitation (from the quadriceps muscle to soleus motoneurones) to provide an assessment of the amount of ongoing presynaptic inhibition exerted on the I a fibres responsible for the facilitation; (2) measurement of the inhibition of H reflexes 40-60 ms after a short vibration to the tibialis anterior tendon to estimate the excitability of the interneurones mediating presynaptic inhibition from tibialis anterior I a afferents to the I a afferents of the test H reflex (soleus or quadriceps). 2. At the onset of an isolated voluntary plantar flexion of the foot (gastrocnemius-soleus contraction) the heteronymous facilitation from quadriceps to soleus was increased, reflecting a decreased presynaptic inhibition of the quadriceps I a terminals on soleus motoneurones. Vibratory inhibition of the soleus H reflex was decreased, reflecting an inhibition of transmission of presynaptic inhibition to homonymous soleus I a afferent terminals. 3. At the onset of the same gastrocnemius-soleus contraction there was, on the contrary, an increased vibratory inhibition of the quadriceps H reflex indicating a facilitation of transmission of presynaptic inhibition to homonymous quadriceps I a afferent terminals. 4. At the onset of an isolated voluntary knee extension (quadriceps contraction) the opposite pattern was seen: the heteronymous facilitation from quadriceps to soleus was decreased and the vibratory inhibition of a soleus H reflex was increased, whereas the vibratory inhibition of the quadriceps H reflex was decreased. 5. These results indicate that presynaptic inhibition of I a afferent terminals on motoneurones of contracting muscles is decreased, permitting I a activity to contribute to excitation of voluntarily activated motoneurones. On the contrary, presynaptic inhibition of I a fibres to motoneurones of muscles not involved in the contraction is increased. It is argued that the former must be supraspinal in origin. 6. It is concluded that the control of presynaptic inhibition of I a fibres at the onset of movement may be organized so as to aid in achieving selectivity of muscle activation, i.e. so as to increase motor contrast.

524 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
TL;DR: Physiological mechanisms underlying these patterns are analysed and an important conclusion is that the triphasic activity with fast flexion is 'centrally programmed'.
Abstract: EMG activity was recorded in biceps and triceps while subjects voluntarily flexed their elbows during a visual matching task. With fast flexion, the initial EMG was characterized by a triphasic pattern with a burst of activity first in biceps, then in triceps with a silent period in biceps, and finally in biceps again; these components were analysed quantitatively. Smooth flexion was characterized by continuous activity in biceps. Inhibition of tonic activity of triceps in relation to a fast flexion occurred in the 50 ms before the initiation of biceps activity. A patients with a severe pansensory neuropathy performed normally on these tasks. Physiological mechanisms underlying these patterns are analysed; an important conclusion is that the triphasic activity with fast flexion is 'centrally programmed'.

458 citations


Cites background from "Interactions between voluntary and ..."

  • ...Most investigators (Basmajian, 1967; Gottlieb et al., 1970) assume that Ti is a result of a stretch reflex produced by passive extension of triceps by Bl....

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  • ...The amplitude of the H-reflex in the antagonist is reduced during the course of the movement (Gottlieb et al., 1970), but this reduction is transiently less marked about the time of Ti....

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  • ...Third is a signal thought, on the basis of Hreflex studies, to control Ia feedback gain (Gottlieb et al., 1970)....

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  • ...creases before, and reaches a peak about, the time of the onset of BI; it then gradually declines throughout the course of the movement (Gottlieb et al., 1970; Pierrot-Deseilligny et al., 1971)....

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