Effects of fusimotor stimulation on the response of the secondary ending of the muscle spindle to sinusoidal stretching

Abstract

1. The responsiveness of the spindle secondary ending to sinusoidal stretching has been studied using the soleus muscle of the anaesthetized cat. The sensitivity (impulses/sec firing per mm stretching) and the phase of the response were determined by computer averaging. The small linear range was studied at frequencies of 0.5-500 Hz, and also the larger non-linear range at 1 Hz.2. In the linear range, stimulation of single fusimotor fibres (which were presumed to be static axons) approximately halved the sensitivity of the ending to low frequency stretching (up to 30 Hz), but did not produce any change in the phase of the response. Thus, from the point of view of motor function, fusimotor activity provides control of gain and a biasing signal, but not control of the relative sensitivity of the secondary ending to length and velocity.3. In contrast, such stimulation slightly increased the responsiveness of the secondary ending to high-frequency stretching (100-500 Hz) and slightly advanced the phase of the response above that of the passive ending.4. The results are discussed in relation to the effect of static fusimotor stimulation on the primary ending, and to findings on secondary endings in the decerebrate cat.