Classification of longissimus lumborum muscle spindle afferents in the anaesthetized cat

Rade Durbaba, Peter Ellaway, Steve R. Rawlinson, Anthony Taylor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recordings have been made from 127 single muscle spindle afferents from the longissimus lumborum muscles of anaesthetized cats. They have been characterized by their responses to passive muscle stretch and the effects of succinylcholine (SCh) and by their sensitivity to vibration. The use of SCh permitted the assessment for each afferent of the influence of bag1 (b1) and bag2 (b2) intrafusal muscle fibres. From this, on the assumption that all afferents were affected by chain (c) fibres, they were classified in four groups: b1b2c (41.9%), b2c (51.4%), b1c (1.3%) and c (5.4%). All the afferents with b1 influence were able to respond one to one to vibration at frequencies above 100 Hz and were considered to belong to primary endings. On the basis of the vibration test, 64% of the b2c type afferents appeared to be primaries and 36% secondaries. Of the units classified as primaries, 41% were designated as b2c and would not therefore be able to respond to dynamic fusimotor activity. The significance of this relatively high proportion of b2c-type spindle primary afferents is discussed in relation to the specialized postural function of the back muscles.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)489-498
JournalJournal of Physiology
Volume571
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2006

Keywords

  • Muscles-Cats
  • Spinal cord-Cats

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Classification of longissimus lumborum muscle spindle afferents in the anaesthetized cat'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this