NEURAL CONTROL OF

MUSCLE CONTRACTION

MUSHARRAF R. SERAD
ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
ZOO103 UuVv
 Lower Motor
Neurons
Influenced by:
 Sensory feedback from the
muscles and tendons
 Facilitory and inhibitory effects
of upper motor neurons
INTRAFUSAL
FIBERS
 Insert into tendons at each end
of the muscle
 Contractile apparatus absent
from central regions
2 TYPES OF INTRAFUSAL FIBERS
1. Nuclear bag fibers – nuclei
arranged in loose aggregate
2. Nuclear chain fibers – nuclei
arranged in rows
Somatic motor neurons with cell bodies in the brain stem and
spinal cord and axons that travel within nerves to stimulate
skeletal muscle contraction.
GOLGI TENDON ORGANS
Sense tension that the muscle exerts on its tendons
MUSCLE SPINDLE APPARATUS
Measures muscle length
EXTRAFUSAL
FIBERS
 Ordinary muscle fibers
outside the spindles
 Contain myofibrils along
entire length
 Spindles are arranged
in parallel with the
extrafusal muscle fibers
 COACTIVATION OF ALPHA AND
GAMMA MOTONEURONS

2 TYPES OF LOWER MOTONEURONS

IN THE SPINAL CORD

ALPHA MOTOR NEURONS

 Neurons that innervate extrafusal fibers
 Fast conducting fibers
GAMMA MOTOR NEURONS
 Neurons that innervate intrafusal fibers
 Cause isometric muscle contraction
 Too few in number to cause muscle to
shorten
COACTIVATION
 Stimulation of alpha and gamma motor
neurons simultaneously
MONOSYNAPTIC-STRETCH REFLEX GOLGI TENDON ORGANS

Most rapid, simple reflex arc Helps prevent excessive muscle

with a single synapse between contraction or passive muscle
the afferent and efferent neuron stretching

Most common example of this is Disynaptic reflex

the knee-jerk reflex (patellar
 Excitatory synapse
tendon reflex)
 Inhibitory synapse
RECEPROCAL Sensory neuron stimulates
INNERVATIONS motor neuron and
interneuron

Interneurons inhibit motor

neurons of antagonistic
muscles

When limb is flexed,

antagonistic extensor
muscles are passively
stretched