Mechanical actions of heterogenic reflexes among ankle stabilizers and their interactions with plantarflexors of the cat hindlimb

Stretch reflex gain scaling at the shoulder varies with synergistic muscle activity

The unique anatomy of the shoulder allows for expansive mobility but also sometimes precarious stability. It has long been suggested that stretch-sensitive reflexes contribute to maintaining joint stability through feedback control, but little is known about how stretch-sensitive reflexes are coordinated between the muscles of the shoulder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the coordination of stretch reflexes in shoulder muscles elicited by rotations of the glenohumeral joint. We hypothesized that stretch reflexes are sensitive to not only a given muscle's background activity but also the aggregate activity of all muscles crossing the shoulder based on the different groupings of muscles required to actuate the shoulder in three rotational degrees of freedom. We examined the relationship between a muscle's background activity and its reflex response in eight shoulder muscles by applying rotational perturbations while participants produced voluntary isometric torques. We found that this relationship, defined as gain scaling, differed at both short and long latencies based on the direction of voluntary torque generated by the participant. Therefore, gain scaling differed based on the aggregate of muscles that were active, not just the background activity in the muscle within which the reflex was measured. Across all muscles, the consideration of torque-dependent gain scaling improved model fits (ΔR2) by 0.17 ± 0.12. Modulation was most evident when volitional torques and perturbation directions were aligned along the same measurement axis, suggesting a functional role in resisting perturbations among synergists while maintaining task performance.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Careful coordination of muscles crossing the shoulder is needed to maintain the delicate balance between the joint's mobility and stability. We provide experimental evidence that stretch reflexes within shoulder muscles are modulated based on the aggregate activity of muscles crossing the joint, not just the activity of the muscle in which the reflex is elicited. Our results reflect coordination through neural coupling that may help maintain shoulder stability during encounters with environmental perturbations.

Redistribution of inhibitory force feedback between a long toe flexor and the major ankle extensor muscles following spinal cord injury

Inhibitory pathways from Golgi tendon organs project widely between muscles crossing different joints and axes of rotation. Evidence suggests that the strength and distribution of this intermuscular inhibition is dependent on motor task and corresponding signals from the brainstem. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether this sensory network is altered after spinal cord hemisection as a potential explanation for motor deficits observed after spinal cord injury (SCI). Force feedback was assessed between the long toe flexor and ankle plantarflexor (flexor hallucis longus), and the three major ankle extensors, (combined gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris muscles) in the hind limbs of unanesthetized, decerebrate, female cats. Data were collected from animals with intact spinal cords (control) and lateral spinal hemisections (LSHs) including chronic LSH (4-20 weeks), subchronic LSH (2 weeks), and acute LSH. Muscles were stretched individually and in pairwise combinations to measure intermuscular feedback between the toe flexor and each of the ankle extensors. In control animals, three patterns were observed (balanced inhibition between toe flexor and ankle extensors, stronger inhibition from toe flexor to ankle extensor, and vice versa). Following spinal hemisection, only strong inhibition from toe flexors onto ankle extensors was observed independent of survival time. The results suggest immediate and permanent reorganization of force feedback in the injured spinal cord. The altered strength and distribution of force feedback after SCI may be an important future target for rehabilitation.

Dysregulation of mechanosensory circuits coordinating the actions of antagonist motor pools following peripheral nerve injury and muscle reinnervation

Movement disorders observed following peripheral nerve injury and muscle reinnervation suggest discoordination in the activation of antagonist muscles. Although underlying mechanisms remain undecided, dysfunction in spinal reflex circuits is a reasonable candidate. Based on the well known role of reflex inhibition between agonist and antagonist muscles in normal animals, we hypothesized its reduction following muscle reinnervation, similar to that associated with other disorders exhibiting antagonist discoordination, e.g. spinal cord injury and dystonia. Experiments performed on acutely-decerebrated rats examined interactions of mechanosensory reflexes between ipsilateral muscles acting as mechanical antagonists at the ankle joint: ankle extensor, gastrocnemii (G) muscles (agonists) and ankle flexor, tibialis anterior (TA) muscle (antagonist). The force of agonist stretch reflex contraction was measured for its suppression or facilitation by concurrent conditioning stretch of the antagonist muscle. Data were compared between two groups of adult rats, an antagonist reinnervation group with TA muscle reinnervated and a control group with TA normally innervated. Results revealed a three-fold increase in reflex suppression in the antagonist reinnervation group, contrary to our predicted decrease. Reflex facilitation also increased, not only in strength, seven-fold, but also in its frequency of stochastic occurrence across stimulus trials. These observations suggest dysregulation in specific spinal reflex circuits as novel candidate origins of modified antagonist muscle coordination following peripheral nerve injury and muscle reinnervation.

Distributed force feedback in the spinal cord and the regulation of limb mechanics

This review is an update on the role of force feedback from Golgi tendon organs in the regulation of limb mechanics during voluntary movement. Current ideas about the role of force feedback are based on modular circuits linking idealized systems of agonists, synergists, and antagonistic muscles. In contrast, force feedback is widely distributed across the muscles of a limb and cannot be understood based on these circuit motifs. Similarly, muscle architecture cannot be understood in terms of idealized systems, since muscles cross multiple joints and axes of rotation and further influence remote joints through inertial coupling. It is hypothesized that distributed force feedback better represents the complex mechanical interactions of muscles, including the stresses in the musculoskeletal network born by muscle articulations, myofascial force transmission, and inertial coupling. Together with the strains of muscle fascicles measured by length feedback from muscle spindle receptors, this integrated proprioceptive feedback represents the mechanical state of the musculoskeletal system. Within the spinal cord, force feedback has excitatory and inhibitory components that coexist in various combinations based on motor task and integrated with length feedback at the premotoneuronal and motoneuronal levels. It is concluded that, in agreement with other investigators, autogenic, excitatory force feedback contributes to propulsion and weight support. It is further concluded that coexistent inhibitory force feedback, together with length feedback, functions to manage interjoint coordination and the mechanical properties of the limb in the face of destabilizing inertial forces and positive force feedback, as required by the accelerations and changing directions of both predator and prey.

Short-term effect of crural fasciotomy on kinematic variability and propulsion during level locomotion

Treadmill locomotion can be characterized by consistent step-to-step kinematics despite the redundant degrees of freedom. The authors investigated the effect of disrupting the crural fascia in decerebrate cats to determine if the crural fascia contributed to kinematic variability and propulsion in the limb. Crural fasciotomy resulted in statistically significant decreases in velocity and acceleration in the joint angles during level walking, before, during, and after paw-off, particularly at the ankle. A further finding was an increase in variance of the limb segment trajectories in the frontal plane. The crural fascia therefore provides force transmission and reduction in kinematic variability to the limb during locomotion.

The regulation of limb stiffness in the context of locomotor tasks

Locomotion on ramped surfaces requires modulation of both pattern generating circuits and limb stiffness. In order to meet the mechanical demands of locomotion under these conditions, muscular activation patterns must correspond to the appropriate functions, whether the muscles are serving as force generators or brakes. Limb stiffness is a critical mechanical property that determines how the body interacts with the environment, and is regulated by both intrinsic and neural mechanisms. We have recently investigated how pattern generation, stiffness and proprioceptive feedback are modulated in a task specific way using the decerebrate cat preparation. Our results confirm previous research using intact animals that during level and upslope walking, hip and ankle extensors are recruited for propulsion during stance. During downslope walking, hip extensors are inhibited and hip flexors are recruited during stance to provide the needed braking action. Our new data further show that endpoint stiffness of the limb is correspondingly reduced for walking down a slope, and that the reduction in stiffness is likely due to an increase in inhibitory force feedback. Our results further suggest that a body orientation signal derived from vestibular and neck proprioceptive information is responsible for the required muscular activation patterns as well as a reduction in limb stiffness. This increased compliance is consistent with the function of the distal limb to cushion the impact during the braking action of the antigravity musculature.

Temporal development of anticipatory reflex modulation to dynamical interactions during arm movement

It is known that somatosensory reflex during voluntary arm movement is modulated anticipatorily according to given tasks or environments. However, when and how reflex amplitude is set remains controversial. Is the reflex modulation completed preparatorily before movement execution or does it vary with the movement? Is the reflex amplitude coded in a temporal manner or in a spatial (or state-dependent) manner? Here we studied these issues while subjects performed planar reaching movements with upcoming opposite (rightward/leftward) directions of force fields. Somatosensory reflex responses of shoulder muscles induced by a small force perturbation were evaluated at several points before the arm encountered predictable force fields after movement start. We found that the shoulder flexor reflex responses were generally higher for the rightward than for the leftward upcoming force fields, whereas the extensor reflex responses were higher for the leftward force field. This reflex amplitude depending on the upcoming force field direction became prominent as the reflex was evoked closer to the force fields, indicating continuous changes in reflex modulation during movement. An additional experiment further showed that the reflex modulation developed as a function of the temporal distance to the force fields rather than the spatial distance. Taken together, the results suggest that, in the force field interaction task, somatosensory reflex amplitude during the course of movement is set anticipatorily on the basis of an estimate of the time-to-contact rather than the state-to-contact, to upcoming dynamical interaction during voluntary movement.

Heterogenic feedback between hindlimb extensors in the spontaneously locomoting premammillary cat

Electrophysiological studies in anesthetized animals have revealed that pathways carrying force information from Golgi tendon organs in antigravity muscles mediate widespread inhibition among other antigravity muscles in the feline hindlimb. More recent evidence in paralyzed or nonparalyzed decerebrate cats has shown that some inhibitory pathways are suppressed and separate excitatory pathways from Golgi tendon organ afferents are opened on the transition from steady force production to locomotor activity. To obtain additional insight into the functions of these pathways during locomotion, we investigated the distribution of force-dependent inhibition and excitation during spontaneous locomotion and during constant force exertion in the premammillary decerebrate cat. We used four servo-controlled stretching devices to apply controlled stretches in various combinations to the gastrocnemius muscles (G), plantaris muscle (PLAN), flexor hallucis longus muscle (FHL), and quadriceps muscles (QUADS) during treadmill stepping and the crossed-extension reflex (XER). We recorded the force responses from the same muscles and were therefore able to evaluate autogenic (intramuscular) and heterogenic (intermuscular) reflexes among this set of muscles. In previous studies using the intercollicular decerebrate cat, heterogenic inhibition among QUADS, G, FHL, and PLAN was bidirectional. During treadmill stepping, heterogenic feedback from QUADS onto G and G onto PLAN and FHL remained inhibitory and was force-dependent. However, heterogenic inhibition from PLAN and FHL onto G, and from G onto QUADS, was weaker than during the XER. We propose that pathways mediating heterogenic inhibition may remain inhibitory under some forms of locomotion on a level surface but that the strengths of these pathways change to result in a proximal to distal gradient of inhibition. The potential contributions of heterogenic inhibition to interjoint coordination and limb stability are discussed.

Reduction of neuromuscular redundancy for postural force generation using an intrinsic stability criterion

Postural control requires the coordination of multiple muscles to achieve both endpoint force production and postural stability. Multiple muscle activation patterns can produce the required force for standing, but the mechanical stability associated with any given pattern may vary, and has implications for the degree of delayed neural feedback necessary for postural stability. We hypothesized that muscular redundancy is reduced when muscle activation patterns are chosen with respect to intrinsic musculoskeletal stability as well as endpoint force production. We used a three-dimensional musculoskeletal model of the cat hindlimb with 31 muscles to determine the possible contributions of intrinsic muscle properties to limb stability during isometric force generation. Using dynamic stability analysis we demonstrate that within the large set of activation patterns that satisfy the force requirement for posture, only a reduced subset produce a mechanically stable limb configuration. Greater stability in the frontal-plane suggests that neural control mechanisms are more highly active for sagittal-plane and for ankle joint control. Even when the limb was unstable, the time-constants of instability were sufficiently great to allow long-latency neural feedback mechanisms to intervene, which may be preferential for movements requiring maneuverability versus stability. Local joint stiffness of muscles was determined by the stabilizing or destabilizing effects of moment-arm versus joint angle relationships. By preferentially activating muscles with high local stiffness, muscle activation patterns with feedforward stabilizing properties could be selected. Such a strategy may increase intrinsic postural stability without co-contraction, and may be useful criteria in the force-sharing problem.

Interactions with compliant loads alter stretch reflex gains but not intermuscular coordination

The human motor system regulates arm mechanics to produce stable postures during interactions with different physical environments. This occurs partly via involuntary mechanisms, including stretch reflexes. Previous single-joint studies demonstrated enhanced reflex sensitivity during interactions with compliant environments, suggesting reflex gain increases to enhance limb stability when that stability is not provided by the environment. This study examined whether similar changes in reflex gain are present throughout the limb following perturbations that simultaneously influence multiple joints. Furthermore, we investigated whether any observed modulation was accompanied by task-specific changes in reflex coordination across muscles, a question that cannot be addressed using single-joint perturbations. Reflexes were elicited during the maintenance of posture by perturbing the arm with a three degrees of freedom robot, configured to have isotropic stiffness of either 10 N/m (compliant) or 10 kN/m (stiff). Perturbation characteristics were matched in both environments. Reflex magnitude was quantified by the average rectified electromyogram, recorded from eight muscles crossing the elbow and shoulder. Reflex coordination was assessed using independent components analysis to compare reflex activation patterns during interactions with stiff and compliant environments. Stretch reflex sensitivity increased significantly in all muscles during interactions with the compliant environment and these changes were not due to changes in background muscle activity. However, there was no significant difference in the reflex coordination patterns observed during interactions with the stiff and compliant environments. These results suggest that reflex modulation occurred through altered use of fixed muscle coordination patterns rather than through a change in reflex coordination.

Inter-joint coupling effects on muscle contributions to endpoint force and acceleration in a musculoskeletal model of the cat hindlimb

The biomechanical principles underlying the organization of muscle activation patterns during standing balance are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to understand the influence of biomechanical inter-joint coupling on endpoint forces and accelerations induced by the activation of individual muscles during postural tasks. We calculated induced endpoint forces and accelerations of 31 muscles in a 7 degree-of-freedom, three-dimensional model of the cat hindlimb. To test the effects of inter-joint coupling, we systematically immobilized the joints (excluded kinematic degrees of freedom) and evaluated how the endpoint force and acceleration directions changed for each muscle in 7 different conditions. We hypothesized that altered inter-joint coupling due to joint immobilization of remote joints would substantially change the induced directions of endpoint force and acceleration of individual muscles. Our results show that for most muscles crossing the knee or the hip, joint immobilization altered the endpoint force or acceleration direction by more than 90 degrees in the dorsal and sagittal planes. Induced endpoint forces were typically consistent with behaviorally observed forces only when the ankle was immobilized. We then activated a proximal muscle simultaneous with an ankle torque of varying magnitude, which demonstrated that the resulting endpoint force or acceleration direction is modulated by the magnitude of the ankle torque. We argue that this simple manipulation can lend insight into the functional effects of co-activating muscles. We conclude that inter-joint coupling may be an essential biomechanical principle underlying the coordination of proximal and distal muscles to produce functional endpoint actions during motor tasks.

Biomechanical capabilities influence postural control strategies in the cat hindlimb

During postural responses to perturbations, horizontal plane forces generated by the cat hindlimb are stereotypically directed either towards or away from the animal's center of mass, independent of perturbation direction. We used a static, three-dimensional musculoskeletal model of the hindlimb to investigate possible biomechanical determinants of this "force constraint strategy." We hypothesized that directions in which the hindlimb can produce large forces are preferentially used in postural control. We computed feasible force sets (FFSs) based on hindlimb configurations of three cats during postural equilibrium tasks and compared them to horizontal plane postural force directions. The grand mean FFS was bimodal, with maxima near the posterior-anterior axis (-86+/-8 degrees and 71+/-4 degrees ), and minima near the medial-lateral axis (177+/-8 degrees and 8+/-8 degrees ). Experimental postural force directions clustered near both maxima; there were no medial postural forces near the absolute minimum. However, the medians of the anterior and posterior postural force direction histograms in the right hindlimb were rotated counter-clockwise from the FFS maxima (p<0.05; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Because the posterior-anterior alignment of the FFS is consistent with a hindlimb structure optimized for locomotion, we conclude that the biomechanical capabilities of the hindlimb strongly influence, but do not uniquely determine the force directions observed in the force constraint strategy. Forces used in postural control may reflect a balance between a neural preference for using forces in the directions of large feasible forces and other criteria, such as the stabilization of the center of mass, and muscular coordination strategies.

Joint stabilising response to lateral and medial tilts

BACKGROUND

Joint stabilisation processes have been mainly studied comparing groups or joints with different stabilities and mainly focusing on one single parameter. The inherent limitations are discussed and a study, where kinematic, kinetic and electromyografic parameters gained from sudden tilt tests were measured, is presented.

METHODS

The response of 24 subjects to sudden lateral and medial tilts of the foot during one legged stance were compared. A three-dimensional foot model was utilised to describe ankle and foot motion. Electromyografic signals of six muscles of the lower limb as well as the horizontal ground reaction forces were analysed.

FINDINGS

Forefoot to rearfoot motion was faster and greater than ankle motion. In general medial tilts showed lower motion amplitudes and angular velocities than lateral tilts but higher horizontal ground reaction force integrals. The electromyography patterns where similar for both conditions. However, a specificity of the muscular response could be identified in the electromyography amplitudes.

INTERPRETATION

The higher mediolateral ground reaction forces, together with the reduced kinematic and no general increase in muscular activation in medial tilts suggest, that passive structures seem to be able to counteract destabilising forces and thus reduce the otherwise needed muscular activation.

Distribution of heterogenic reflexes among the quadriceps and triceps surae muscles of the cat hind limb

Neural signals from proprioceptors in muscles provide length and force-related linkages among muscles of the limbs. The functions of this network of heterogenic reflexes remain unclear. New data are reported here on the distribution and magnitudes of neural feedback among quadriceps and triceps surae muscles in the decerebrate cat. The purpose of this paper was to distinguish whether inhibitory-force feedback is directed against muscles by virtue of the motor-unit composition or articulation of the muscle. These studies were carried out using controlled stretches and measurements of the resulting force responses of individual quadriceps and triceps surae muscles. Responses were evoked over a wide range of background force levels. In agreement with earlier electrophysiological studies, excitatory length feedback strongly linked the vastus muscles, but excitatory reflexes between each vastus and rectus femoris muscles were weak. We also observed a substantial excitatory linkage from the vastus muscles to the soleus muscle. In contrast, force-related inhibition was absent in the heterogenic reflexes among the vastus muscles but strong and bidirectional between each vastus muscle and the rectus femoris muscle and between triceps surae and quadriceps muscles. We conclude that short-latency feedback in the hindlimb is organized according to muscle articulation. Length feedback within muscle groups regulates joint stiffness while interjoint length feedback may compensate for the effects of nonuniform inertial properties of the limb. Force feedback is organized to regulate coupling between joints and, along with length feedback, determine the mechanical properties of the endpoint.

Proprioception from a spinocerebellar perspective

This review explores how proprioceptive sensory information is organized at spinal cord levels as it relates to a sense of body position and movement. The topic is considered in an historical context and develops a different framework that may be more in tune with current views of sensorimotor processing in other central nervous system structures. The dorsal spinocerebellar tract (DSCT) system is considered in detail as a model system that may be considered as an end point for the processing of proprioceptive sensory information in the spinal cord. An analysis of this system examines sensory processing at the lowest levels of synaptic connectivity with central neurons in the nervous system. The analysis leads to a framework for proprioception that involves a highly flexible network organization based in some way on whole limb kinematics. The functional organization underlying this framework originates with the biomechanical linkages in the limb that establish functional relationships among the limb segments. Afferent information from limb receptors is processed further through a distributed neural network in the spinal cord. The result is a global representation of hindlimb parameters rather than a muscle-by-muscle or joint-by-joint representation.

The mechanical action of proprioceptive length feedback in a model of cat hindlimb

Postural regulation is an important part of a variety of motor tasks, including quiet standing and locomotion. Muscle length feedback, both the autogenic length feedback arising from a muscle's own spindles, and heterogenic length feedback, arising from its agonists and antagonists, is a strong modulator of muscle force and well suited to postural maintenance. The effects of this reflex feedback on 3-D force generation and limb mechanics are not known. In this paper, we present a mechanical model for relating 3-D changes in cat hindlimb posture to changes in muscle lengths. These changes in muscle length are used to estimate changes in both intrinsic muscle force generation and muscle activation by length feedback pathways. Few muscles are found to have directly agonist mechanical actions, and most differ by more than 20 degrees. Endpoint force fields are largely uniform across the space investigated. Both autogenic and heterogenic feedback contribute to whole limb resistance to perturbation, autogenic pathways being most dramatic. Length feedback strongly reinforced a restoring force in response to endpoint displacement.

Afferent roles in hindlimb wipe-reflex trajectories: free-limb kinematics and motor patterns

The hindlimb wiping reflex of the frog is an example of a targeted trajectory that is organized at the spinal level. In this paper, we examine this reflex in 45 spinal frogs to test the importance of proprioceptive afferents in trajectory formation at the spinal level. We tested hindlimb to hindlimb wiping, in which the wiping or effector limb and the target limb move together. Loss of afferent feedback from the wiping limb was produced by cutting dorsal roots 7-9. This caused altered initial trajectory direction, increased ankle path curvature, knee-joint velocity reversals, and overshooting misses of the target limb. We established that these kinematic and motor-pattern changes were due mainly to the loss of ipsilateral muscular and joint afferents. Loss of cutaneous afferents alone did not alter the initial trajectory up to target limb contact. However, there were cutaneous effects in later motor-pattern phases after the wiping and target limb had made contact: The knee extension or whisk phase of wiping was often lost. Finally, there was a minor and nonspecific excitatory effect of phasic contralateral feedback in the motor-pattern changes after deafferentation. Specific muscle groups were altered as a result of proprioceptive loss. These muscles also showed configuration-based regulation during wiping. Biceps, semitendinosus, and sartorius (all contributing knee flexor torques) all were regulated in amplitude based on the initial position of the limb. These muscles contributed to an initial electromyographic (EMG) burst in the motor pattern. Rectus internus and semimembranosus (contributing hip extensor torques) were regulated in onset but not in the time of peak EMG or in termination of EMG based on initial position. These two muscles contributed to a second EMG burst in the motor pattern. After deafferentation the initial burst was reduced and more synchronous with the second burst, and the second burst often was broadened in duration. Ankle path curvature and its degree of change after loss of proprioception depended on the degree of joint staggering used by the frog (i.e., the relative phasing between knee and hip motion) and on the degree of motor-pattern change. We examined these variations in 31 frogs. Twenty percent (6/31) of frogs showed largely synchronous joint coordination and little effect of deafferentation on joint coordination, end-point path, or the underlying synchronous motor pattern. Eighty percent of frogs (25/31) showed some degree of staggered joint coordination and also strong effects of loss of afferents. Loss of afferents caused two major joint level changes in these frogs: collapse of joint phasing into synchronous joint motion and increased hip velocity. Fifty percent of frogs (16/31) showed joint-coordination changes of type (1) without type (2). This change was associated with reduction, loss, or collapse of phasing of the sartorius, semitendinosus and biceps (iliofibularis) in the initial EMG burst in the motor pattern. The remaining 30% (9/31) of frogs showed both joint-coordination changes 1 and 2. These changes were associated with both the knee flexor EMG changes seen in the other frogs and with additional increased activity of rectus internus and semimembranosus muscles. Our data show that multiple ipsilateral modalities all play some role in regulating muscle activity patterns in the wiping limb. Our data support a strong role of ipsilateral proprioception in the process of trajectory formation and specifically in the control of limb segment interactions during wiping by way of the regulation and coordination of muscle groups based on initial limb configuration.

Receptor mechanisms underlying heterogenic reflexes among the triceps surae muscles of the cat

The soleus (S), medial gastrocnemius (MG), and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) muscles of the cat are interlinked by rapid spinal reflex pathways. In the decerebrate state, these heterogenic reflexes are either excitatory and length dependent or inhibitory and force dependent. Mechanographic analysis was used to obtain additional evidence that the muscle spindle primary ending and the Golgi tendon organ provide the major contributions to these reflexes, respectively. The tendons of the triceps surae muscles were separated and connected to independent force transducers and servo-controlled torque motors in unanesthetized, decerebrate cats. The muscles were activated as a group using crossed-extension reflexes. Electrical stimulation of the caudal cutaneous sural nerve was used to provide a particularly strong activation of MG and decouple the forces of the triceps surae muscles. During either form of activation, the muscles were stretched either individually or in various combinations to determine the strength and characteristics of autogenic and heterogenic feedback. The corresponding force responses, including both active and passive components, were measured during the changing background tension. During activation of the entire group, the excitatory, heterogenic feedback linking the three muscles was found to be strongest onto LG and weakest onto MG, in agreement with previous results concerning the strengths of heteronymous Ia excitatory postsynaptic potentials among the triceps surae muscles. The inhibition, which is known to affect only the soleus muscle, was dependent on active contractile force and was detected essentially as rapidly as length dependent excitation. The inhibition outlasted the excitation and was blocked by intravenous strychnine. These results indicate that the excitatory and inhibitory effects are dominated by feedback from primary spindle receptors and Golgi tendon organs. The interactions between these two feedback pathways potentially can influence both the mechanical coupling between ankle and knee.

Organization of recurrent inhibition and facilitation in motor nuclei innervating ankle muscles of the cat

The distribution of recurrent inhibition and facilitation to motor nuclei of muscles that act at the cat ankle joint was compared with the locomotor activity and mechanical action of those muscles described in published studies. Emphasis was placed on motor nuclei whose muscles have a principal action about the abduction-adduction axis and the pretibial flexors: tibialis posterior (TP), peroneus longus (PerL), peroneus brevis (PerB), the anterior part of tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL). Most intracellular recordings in spinalized, unanesthetized decerebrate cats showed only inhibitory or excitatory responses to antidromic stimulation of peripheral nerves, but mixed effects were also seen. Recurrent effects among motor nuclei of ankle abductors and adductors were not distributed uniformly. TP motoneurons received recurrent inhibition from most other nuclei active in stance and stimulation of the TP nerve inhibited these motor nuclei. Although PerB motoneurons are also active during stance, they received primarily facilitation from most motor nuclei. PerL received mixtures of inhibition and facilitation from all sources. Stimulation of the nerves to PerL, PerB, and peroneus tertius (PerT) produced weak recurrent inhibition and facilitation, even in homonymous motoneurons and motoneurons of Ia synergists. The ankle flexors TA and EDL displayed different patterns of recurrent inhibition and facilitation. TA motoneurons received prominent homonymous inhibition and inhibition from semitendinosus (St). EDL, whose activity profile differs from TA and which also acts at the digits, did not receive strong recurrent inhibition from either TA or St, nor did stimulation of the EDL nerve produce much inhibition. The distribution of recurrent inhibition and facilitation is correlated with the pattern of locomotor activity, but with exceptions that suggest an influence of mechanical action, particularly in the antagonistic interactions between TP and PerB. The extended pattern of recurrent inhibition, the reduction or absence of inhibition produced by motor nuclei with individualized functions or digit function and the prevalence of facilitation suggest that the recurrent Renshaw system is organized into inhibitory and disinhibitory projections that participate in the control of sets of motor nuclei engaged in rhythmic and stereotyped movements.