Monosynaptic Ia excitation and post-activation depression

Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny; David Burke

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511545047.003

2 - Monosynaptic Ia excitation and post-activation depression

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2009

Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny and

David Burke

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Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny: Affiliation:
Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpétrière, Paris
David Burke: Affiliation:
University of Sydney

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Summary

The extent to which the spinal stretch reflex is involved in normal motor control and the contribution of monosynaptic Ia connections in its generation are not yet completely clarified. Regardless of these uncertainties, there is continuing interest in the reflex connections of the primary endings of muscle spindles, as detailed below.

Muscle synergies laid down in the spinal cord

The execution of even the simplest movement involves a large number of muscles, but the pattern of muscle activity is consistent for any given type of movement (see Illert, 1996). Beevor (1904, cited by Illert, 1996) claimed that the neuronal arrangements for stereotyped movements are laid down in the spinal cord. The various muscle synergies could thus be represented by different sets of spinal connections, which have been termed ‘spinal functional units’ (Baldissera, Hultborn & Illert, 1981), and are thought to be mobilised during voluntary movements, as was postulated long ago by Forster (1879, cited by Hultborn, 2001). One objective in the study of reflexes is to identify the pattern of connections underlying a particular form of behaviour. This entails tracing the effects of a given input to see how widely it is distributed to excite or inhibit different neurones. The classical example of such a study was provided by Sherrington (1910), who detailed the muscles that contract or relax in the flexor reflex (see Chapter 9).

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord
Its Role in Motor Control and Movement Disorders
, pp. 63 - 112

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545047.003 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2005

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