Origin and nature of correlations in the Ia feedback pathway of the muscle control system

Abstract

Mammalian primary muscle spindle endings receive two inputs from fusimotor fibres and length changes of their extrafusal environment. Both inputs are also powerful noise sources disturbing the discharge patterns of the receptors. In this paper emphasis is laid on the extrafusal component. It is shown that extrafusal muscle activity can be viewed as a stochastic process which, acting as a common source, can correlate discharge patterns of adjacent muscle spindles. Some quantitative characteristics of these correlations and their relation to the underlying mechanical events are investigated in some detail in order to provide data for more theoretical considerations on their possible physiological importance.