MYOTATIC REFLEX

• It is the tonic contraction of the muscles in response to a stretching force due to

stimulation of muscle proprioceptors . It is also called as Liddle-Sherrington reflex,
Muscular reflex and stretch reflex.
• The muscle stretch receptors are sensory nerve endings that supply the muscle
spindles and the motor neurons supply the extrafusal fibres of the muscles.
• The long slender ends of the intrafusal fibres are striated and contractile whereas the
central nuclear bag regions are non-contractile. The impulses arising from here are
conducted by group 1A Sensory fibres. These sensory fibres synapse with the motor
neuron called alpha efferent that supply the extrafusal fibres responsible for the
contraction of the stretched muscle. Therefore this is a monosynaptic reflex.
Functional significance –
It serves as a mechanism for maintaining posture . The stretch of the muscle spindle
acts as a stimulus to elicit the stretch reflex causing a sustained contraction of the
stretched muscle, maintaining it upright against gravity.
The same reflex acts in mandibular musculature to maintain the postural rest position of
the mandible in relation to the maxilla
- In an activator , the clinician induces a myotatic reflex by using a bite registration that
records the mandible in position approximately 3 mm distal to the most protrusive
position and vertically the bite is registered within the limits of the freeway space.
• According to this theory, a loose fitting activator increases the frequency of reflex
muscle contractions against the appliance . Intermittent movements of the appliance
during swallowing and biting deliver distal and intrusive forces to the maxillary teeth
engaged in the appliance .
• Since the appliance is loose fitting , it will drop when the jaws relax. The patient must
then be conditioned to bite into the appliance to keep it in position and if correctly
motivated , soon develops a conditioned reflex that is performed while sleeping .
• When the mandible moves mesially to engage the appliance , the elevator muscles of
mastication are activated and deliver force to the teeth , thus when the teeth engage
the appliance , the myotatic reflex is activated , so that in addition to the muscle force
delivered during swallowing and biting , reflex stretch stimulation of the muscle
spindle also elicits reflex muscle activity.
• Regulation – Higher centres of brain control the myotatic reflex through the reticular
formation . Apart from the alpha efferents supplying the extrafusal fibres of the
muscles ,smaller motor neurons or gamma efferents supply the intrafusal fibres of the
muscle spindle.
 CLASP KNIFE REFLEX
• This phenomenon is produced by stretching an extensor muscle against a
background of increased extensor muscle tone.
• Also called as autogenic inhibition.
• If one tries to flex the spastic limb of a patient, forcibly , resistance is encountered as
soon as the muscle is stretched . This is a resistance due to the hyperactive reflex
contraction of the muscle in response to the stretch . If flexion is carried further
forcibly, a point is reached where all resistance melts and the rigid limb collapses
readily.
• Because the resistance of a limb resembles that of a spring loaded folding knife
blade, it is called clasp knife reflex; the muscle first resists then relaxes.
• The stimulus necessary to elicit such a reflex is excessive stretch and when elicited it
inhibits muscular contraction, causing the muscle to relax.
• The receptors for this are the golgi tendon organs and impulses are carried by the
group 1B sensory fibres which act on motor neuron supplying the stretched muscle.
• It is a disynaptic reflex arc because an interneuron is interposed between the
sensory and motor neuron. The output of the motor neuron pool depends upon the
balance between the two antagonist inputs
• Functional significance – to prevent overload by preventing damaging contractions
against strong stretching forces .
• When the mandible is vertically displaced in an extreme separation of 10-15 mm, it
does not work on the basis of the myotatic reflex but by stretching of the soft tissues –
the viscoelastic effect . The Harvold Woodside activator works on this principle of the
clasp knife reflex.
 REFERENCES:

1)Tortora Grabowski.Ninth edition.

chapter10 )Muscle Tissue. chapter11)The Muscular System
2)Removable orthodontic appliance Graber and Neumann
3)Textbook of Medical physiology- 10th edition by Guyton & Hall.
4)Orthodontics Principles and Practise 3rd by T.M Graber.
5)B D Chaurasia’s Human Anatomy textbook
6) Textbook of Human Physiology By Dr. A K Jain
THANK YOU