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Biomedical subjects

F W Klussmann

Publications and source records attributed to F W Klussmann.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Spectral analysis of tremorine and cold tremor electromyograms in animal species of different size.

In 14 mice (36.2 +/- 5.4 g), 17 rats (425 +/- 46.4 g), and 11 rabbits (3,200 +/- 340 g) a comparative electromyographic analysis of tremorine tremor and cold tremor was performed in gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles using spectral analysis. The mean frequency of cold tremor decreased with increasing body weight (mice: 40.2 +/- 4.5 Hz; rats: 31.3 +/- 4.9 Hz; rabbits: 16.4 +/- 3.2 Hz). With tremorine tremor no such allometric correlation was found for tremor frequency and body weight (mice: 17.7 +/- 3.6 Hz; rats: 19.6 +/- 5.1 Hz; rabbits: 15.9 +/- 2.1 Hz). Cross spectral analysis revealed that during cold tremor the flexor muscle (tibialis anterior) and the extensor muscle (gastrocnemius) of rabbits are activated alternately. The mean phase shift between the activation of flexor and extensor muscle was -155.5 degrees. Stronger activation was observed in the flexor muscle. Tremorine tremor was characterized by synchronous activation of flexor and extensor muscles with a mean phase angle of 3.0 degrees and a predominance of the extensor muscle. The results suggest that the nervous mechanisms for the generation of tremorine tremor and cold tremor are different.

Animals

Localization and neurophysiological properties of motoneurones of the M. triceps surae of the rat after retrograde labelling with Evans blue.

Evans blue was injected into either the medial and lateral gastrocnemius or the soleus muscle of adult albino rats to mark retrogradely the corresponding motoneurones in the spinal cord. The labelled motoneurones were identified by the red fluorescence of their perikarya in the ventral horn of segments L4--L6. In addition, a monosynaptic reflex action potential was recorded only in the ventral roots L4--L6 after stimulation of the nerves to the medial and lateral gastrocnemius and the soleus muscle. Excitability and reflex latencies of labelled and unlabelled motoneurones of segment L4--L6 as well as the conduction velocities of their axons were measured. Apart from a small but statistically nonsignificant increase in excitability, no functional differences were found between labelled and control neurones. Thus, retrograde labelling of motoneurones with Evans blue prior to performing electrophysiological experiments has the advantage that the marked motoneurones can be identified under the fluorescence microscope without the need of additional staining or fixation.

Action Potentials

Effect of temperature on postsynaptic potentials of cat spinal motoneurones.

The effect of spinal cord temperature on excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSP) were measured by means of intracellular recordings from lumbar motoneurones of 43 cats. While body temperature and oil bath temperature were maintained between 37 and 38 degrees C, the temperature of the spinal segment under investigation was changed separately in the range between 30 and 42 degrees C. Cooling consistently produced an increase in amplitude and duration of both, mono- and poly-synaptic EPSPs and recurrent and direct IPSPs. Warming caused the opposite effect. The input resistance of the motoneurones was inversely related to the spinal cord temperature, while the latency of action potentials produced by intracellular injection of outward current was directly and exponentially related to spinal temperature. Although the data do not provide a quantitative differentiation of pre- versus postsynaptic temperature effects, they are consistent with the notion that temperature dependent changes on postsynaptic membrane properties contribute to the observed PSP changes. It is further suggested that similar postsynaptic temperature effects may be concerned in temperature sensitivity of proposed specific central neurones.

Animals