Discharge Patterns of Neurones Supplying Tonic Abdominal Flexor Muscles in the Crayfish

1967 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-411
Author(s):  
WILLIAM H. EVOY ◽  
DONALD KENNEDY ◽  
DONALD M. WILSON
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Simultaneous Recording ◽  
Spontaneous Discharge ◽  
Tension Development ◽  
Flexor Muscles ◽  
Visible Effect ◽  
Discharge Patterns ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Coupling Mechanisms

1. The discharge patterns of tonic flexor motoneurones in the crayfish abdomen have been investigated by simultaneous recording from several nerve roots. The five flexor motoneurones supplying each segment are serially homologous, smaller units have higher discharge frequencies, and the excitability of a given unit is generally higher in more caudal ganglia. 2. Even the smallest axons are capable of generating substantial muscle tension at their spontaneous discharge frequencies. Tension development is extremely tonic. Single motor impulses are without effect, latencies are long, and the frequency/tension relation is steep. 3. The inhibitory axon to each flexor discharges during ‘extension’ reflexes, but has no visible effect upon relaxation time, or upon the response to subsequent excitation. Inhibitory impulses do not relax previously unexcited muscle. 4. Phase histograms for the discharge of pairs of homologous or non-homologous efferent axons across a single ganglion, within the same root, and between adjacent ganglia have revealed several coupling mechanisms. One is mediated by short time-constant electrotonic junctions between bilaterally paired inhibitory axons. The second involves weaker, more generalized interactions of longer time-constant between non-homologous axons. The third is brought about by common presynaptic sources of excitation. Inputs tend to be common for homologues in adjacent ganglia rather than for non-homologues in a single ganglion, a finding consistent with the selectivity shown by central interneurones in their effects upon motoneurones.

Gradation of isometric tension by different activation rates in motor units of cat flexor carpi radialis muscle

1986 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 494-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. R. Botterman ◽  
G. A. Iwamoto ◽  
W. J. Gonyea
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Isometric Tension ◽  
Medial Gastrocnemius ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Tension Development ◽  
Stimulus Interval ◽  
Flexor Carpi Radialis ◽  
Single Motor Units ◽  
Activation Rates

Single motor units of the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscle were activated with a series of constant-rate stimulus trains to study the relation between the frequency of activation and isometric tension development (F-T relation). The tension produced by each stimulus train was expressed as a percentage of the maximum tension-time area (Amax) found for a given unit. Between 25 and 75% Amax a clear separation was seen in the rates needed to produce the same relative tension for the F-T curves of slow-twitch (type S) and fast-twitch (type F) units. Over the steepest portion of the F-T curve (25-50% Amax), where tension output was most sensitive to changes in activation rate, type F units required substantially higher stimulation rates (30 pps) to achieve the same relative tension output as type S units. Furthermore, the frequency range that corresponded to the steep portion of the curve was 2.3 times greater for type F units. For both type S and F units, twitch duration was deemed to be an important determinant of the F-T curve, as has been shown previously. A direct continuous relation was seen between the integrated twitch time (ITT) and the stimulus interval needed to produce 50% Amax (r = 0.94, P less than 0.001). Thus, units that had relatively brief twitches required higher activation rates to achieve the same relative percentage of Amax. Comparison of F-T curves from FCR with those derived by other investigators for cat hindlimb units (medial gastrocnemius and peroneus longus) revealed that significant differences in activation rates were needed to produce the same percentage of Amax throughout the midrange of the F-T curve. At 50% Amax, type F units in FCR required activation rates approximately 20 pps higher than type F units in the hindlimb. Type S units in FCR required only slightly higher rates (approximately equal to 5 pps). Based on a number of well-founded assumptions, F-T curves derived from FCR units were used to estimate the potential contribution of rate coding to total muscle tension by type S and F units. This analysis leads to the conclusion that rate modulation is a potentially important factor in the gradation of tension for the FCR muscle.

scholarly journals A sensory integration account for time perception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Toso ◽  
Arash Fassihi ◽  
Luciano Paz ◽  
Francesca Pulecchi ◽  
Mathew E. Diamond
Keyword(s):  
Time Perception ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Sensory Integration ◽  
Neuronal Firing ◽  
Elapsed Time ◽  
Leaky Integrator ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Integrator Model ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Sense Of Touch

ABSTRACTThe connection between stimulus perception and time perception remains unknown. The present study combines human and rat psychophysics with sensory cortical neuronal firing to construct a computational model for the percept of elapsed time embedded within sense of touch. When subjects judged the duration of a vibration applied to the fingertip (human) or whiskers (rat), increasing stimulus mean speed led to increasing perceived duration. Symmetrically, increasing vibration duration led to increasing perceived intensity. We modeled spike trains from vibrissal somatosensory cortex as input to dual leaky integrators – an intensity integrator with short time constant and a duration integrator with long time constant – generating neurometric functions that replicated the actual psychophysical functions of rats. Returning to human psychophysics, we then confirmed specific predictions of the dual leaky integrator model. This study offers a framework, based on sensory coding and subsequent accumulation of sensory drive, to account for how a feeling of the passage of time accompanies the tactile sensory experience.

346. Measurements of the rate of change of temperature in high temperature-short time pasteurization plant

1947 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
F. Steghart
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Water Pipe ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Rates Of Change ◽  
High Temperature Short Time ◽  
Short Time

It has recently been claimed that in modern high temperature-short time pasteurization plant fluctuations in temperature of the order of 1° F./sec. are unusual and probably artefacts, and that an instantaneous drop is certainly fictitious.It has, nevertheless, been shown that such rapid drops in temperature do in fact occur frequently in high temperature-short time plants of the type investigated. The plant investigated was not of the latest design incorporating devices for speeding up the control by injecting steam directly into the hot-water pipe.Temperature changes of the order of those in question were first observed by Mattick & Hiscox(1) of the National Institute for Research in Dairying, who carried out tests on pasteurization plant using a small mirror galvanometer with a very short time constant. The maximum rates of change were, however, not observed.

Ventilatory afterdischarge and central respiratory drive interactions in the awake goat

1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 416-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Engwall ◽  
C. A. Smith ◽  
J. A. Dempsey ◽  
G. E. Bisgard
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Minute Ventilation ◽  
Respiratory Drive ◽  
Arterial Pco2 ◽  
Expiratory Muscle ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Animal Preparation

We have previously established the existence of ventilatory afterdischarge (VAD) in the awake goat by means of an isolated perfused carotid body (CB) technique. In the present series of experiments we used this animal preparation to examine the effects of systemic (central nervous system) hypoxia, mild hypercapnia, and hypocapnia on the manifestation of VAD in ventilatory variables and respiratory muscle electromyogram activity after hypoxic stimulation of the isolated CB. With systemic isocapnic normoxia, inspired minute ventilation remains above control for 30–40 s (time constant = 16.8 s) after termination of CB hypoxia; however, with systemic hypocapnia, VAD is short (time constant = 5.5 s) and hypoventilation is common after removal of CB stimulation. During mild systemic hypercapnia, VAD is prolonged (time constant = 39.9 s). However, systemic (central nervous system) hypoxia did not decrease VAD (time constant = 17.0 s). These results indicate that the manifestation of VAD is more sensitive to the level of arterial PCO2 and central chemoreceptor activity than it is to the state of central oxygenation. Inspiratory and expiratory muscle electromyogram activities qualitatively tracked ventilation during CB stimulation and during the VAD period in all conditions.

Thermal Effects and Self-Heating Time Constant for GMR Recording Heads

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Baril ◽  
Erhard Schreck ◽  
Al Wallash
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Heating Time ◽  
Heat Sources ◽  
Resistance Change ◽  
Self Heating ◽  
Recording Heads ◽  
Gmr Sensors ◽  
Gmr Sensor ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Current Transients

An understanding of the temperature of the GMR reader element used in disk drives during operating and non-operating condition is critical to optimize its performance. Self-heating and/or external heat sources will cause an increase in the temperature of the GMR sensor. In this work we concentrate on the self-heating effect due to bias current. Experiments that monitored the resistance change during very short current pulses showed that state-of-the-art GMR sensors have an extremely short time-constant that is less than 2 ns. This work is applicable to the current transients that the GMR head experiences during electrical crosstalk, electrostatic discharge and thermal asperities.

Inhibition of Afferent Transmission in the Feeding Circuitry of Aplysia: Persistence Can Be as Important as Size

2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 2940-2949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin G. Evans ◽  
Adarli Romero ◽  
Elizabeth C. Cropper
Keyword(s):  
Time Constant ◽  
Synaptic Input ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Lateral Process ◽  
Postsynaptic Potentials ◽  
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potentials ◽  
Functional Inhibition ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Spike Initiation ◽  
Short Time

We are studying afferent transmission from a mechanoafferent, B21, to a follower, B8. During motor programs, afferent transmission is regulated so that it does not always occur. Afferent transmission is eliminated when spike propagation in B21 fails, i.e., when spike initiation is inhibited in one output region-B21's lateral process. Spike initiation in the lateral process is inhibited by the B52 and B4/5 cells. Individual B52 and B4/5-induced inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in B21 differ. For example, the peak amplitude of a B4/5-induced IPSP is four times the amplitude of a B52 IPSP. Nevertheless, when interneurons fire in bursts at physiological (i.e., low) frequencies, afferent transmission is most effectively reduced by B52. Although individual B52-induced IPSPs are small, they have a long time constant and summate at low firing frequencies. Once IPSPs summate, they effectively block afferent transmission. In contrast, individual B4/5-induced IPSPs have a relatively short time constant and do not summate at low frequencies. B52 and B4/5 therefore differ in that once synaptic input from B52 becomes effective, afferent transmission is continuously inhibited. In contrast, periods of B4/5-induced inhibition are interspersed with relatively long intervals in which inhibition does not occur. Consequently, the probability that afferent transmission will be inhibited is low. In conclusion, it is widely recognized that afferent transmission can be regulated by synaptic input. Our experiments are, however, unusual in that they relate specific characteristics of postsynaptic potentials to functional inhibition. In particular we demonstrate the potential importance of the IPSP time constant.

scholarly journals Dart Throwing with the Open and Closed Eyes: Kinematic Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey S. Smirnov ◽  
Tatiana A. Alikovskaia ◽  
Pavel N. Ermakov ◽  
Pavel P. Khoroshikh ◽  
Kirill A. Fadeev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Simultaneous Recording ◽  
Final Phase ◽  
Coordination Disorders ◽  
Eyes Closed ◽  
Throwing Accuracy ◽  
Dart Throwing ◽  
Hand Eye Coordination ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
Hand Coordination

Eye-hand coordination during dart throwing includes both the sensory and motor components, as well as cognitive variables, for example, the direction of the subject’s attention to the target or to the hand kinematic. In the present study, subjects performed dart throws in the eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions with simultaneous recording of the kinematics of the throwing hand. The results showed that the position of the hand in its raising phase was closer to the torso when performing more accurate throws with the eyes-open condition compared to more peripheral throws and throws performed in the eyes-closed condition. Following the dart release, the position of the hand in the eyes-open condition was lower compared to the eyes-closed condition. Additionally, in the eyes-closed condition, raising the hand in its backward moving phase negatively predicts the throwing accuracy. Thus, the early phase of the movement is associated with attention, and the final phase is associated with the visual feedback about the throwing accuracy. Raising the hand in the eyes-closed condition reflects an increase in muscle tension, which leads to a decrease in the accuracy of movement. The results of the study can be applied in sports and in the treatment of hand-eye-coordination disorders.

Disc Mechanics With Trans-Endplate Partial Nucleotomy are not Fully Restored Following Cyclic Compressive Loading and Unloaded Recovery

2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 823-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward J. Vresilovic ◽  
Wade Johannessen ◽  
Dawn M. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Cyclic Loading ◽  
Stress Relaxation ◽  
Nucleus Pulposus ◽  
Time Constant ◽  
Annulus Fibrosus ◽  
Compressive Loading ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Mechanical Behaviors ◽  
Short Time

Mechanical function of the intervertebral disc is maintained through the interaction between the hydrated nucleus pulposus, the surrounding annulus fibrosus, and the superior and inferior endplates. In disc degeneration the normal transfer of load between disc substructures is compromised. The objective of this study was to explore the mechanical role of the nucleus pulposus in support of axial compressive loads over time. This was achieved by measuring the elastic slow ramp and viscoelastic stress-relaxation mechanical behaviors of cadaveric sheep motion segments before and after partial nucleotomy through the endplate (keeping the annulus fibrosus intact). Mechanics were evaluated at five conditions: Intact, intact after 10,000cycles of compression, acutely after nucleotomy, following nucleotomy and 10,000cycles of compression, and following unloaded recovery. Radiographs and magnetic resonance images were obtained to examine structure. Only the short time constant of the stress relaxation was altered due to nucleotomy. In contrast, cyclic loading resulted in significant and large changes to both the stiffness and stress relaxation behaviors. Moreover, the nucleotomy had little to no effect on the disc mechanics after cyclic loading, as there were no significant differences comparing mechanics after cyclic loading with or without the nucleotomy. Following unloaded recovery the mechanical changes that had occurred as a consequence of cyclic loading were restored, leaving only a sustained change in the short time constant due to the trans-endplate nucleotomy. Thus the swelling and redistribution of the remaining nucleus pulposus was not able to fully restore mechanical behaviors. This study reveals insights into the role of the nucleus pulposus in disc function, and provides new information toward the potential role of altered nucleus pulpous function in the degenerative cascade.

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