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PubMed1990

[The stretch reflex response in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle in persons with organic and probably functionally conditioned central motor impairment (electromyographic study)].

Stretch reflex responses in the m. abductor pollicis brevis were elicited by percussion with the reflex hammer on the distal digit of the thumb. On the side of spastic hemiparesis the author revealed more marked short-latency and suppression of medium- and late-latency parts of the reflex response. On the side of weak central hemiparesis also the short-latency part of the reflex response was suppressed. In functionally conditioned pareses the author found dishabituation of medium and late latency parts of the reflex response. On the side of the cerebellar lesions there was a relatively higher amplitude of the second part of the medium-latency response. In patients with the diagnosis of definite multiple sclerosis in addition to suppression of medium and late- latency parts of the reflex response there was a typical prolongation their latency.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Excitatory actions of experimental muscle pain on early and late components of human jaw stretch reflexes.

It has recently been shown that a slow stretch evokes a short-latency (probably monosynaptic) and a long-latency (polysynaptic) reflex response in human jaw-closing muscles. The effect of nociceptive muscle input on the fusimotor system has not been investigated in detail. In order to investigate the effect of sustained muscle pain on the jaw stretch reflex, two main experiments were performed. Stretch reflex responses were evoked in the masseter and temporalis muscles by slow stretches (1-mm displacement, 40-ms ramp time) before, during and 15 min after a period of experimentally induced muscle pain. In experiment I, a dose of 1.0 M hypertonic or 154 mM isotonic (control) saline was infused in random order into the left masseter for up to 15 min (n=12). The level of excitation of the left masseter at 15% maximal voluntary contraction was controlled by visual feedback of the surface EMG (sEMG). In experiment II, a dose of 1.0 M saline was infused into the left masseter but with feedback from the sEMG of the right masseter (n=12). In a control experiment, both sEMG and intramuscular EMG (imEMG) were recorded from the left and right masseters; the feedback was from imEMG of the left masseter (n=12). The early (onset: 9--10 ms) and late (duration from 25 to 40 ms) reflex components were recorded and analysed in all experiments. Infusion of 1.0 M saline caused moderate pain (mean score on a Visual Analogue Pain Scale: 4.9--5.0 cm). The peak-to-peak amplitude of the early reflex component in the painful masseter normalized to the pre-stimulus EMG activity was significantly higher during the pain than the pre- and post-infusion conditions in all experiments. The normalized area of the late reflex component in the painful masseter was significantly larger than in the pre-infusion condition in all experiments. Isotonic saline had no significant effect on the jaw stretch reflexes. These results indicate that experimental jaw-muscle pain in humans facilitates the early as well as the late component of the jaw stretch reflex response as revealed by both sEMG and imEMG. This effect appears to be independent of the level of excitation of the muscle and not related to volume effects of the injected saline. A change in the sensitivity of the fusimotor system during muscle pain is suggested as an explanation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

[Effects of muscle relaxant E-0646 on human stretch reflex and responses].

The experiment examined the effects of a muscle relaxant E-0646 on short latency stretch reflex (SLR) and long latency stretch responses (LLRs) of lower leg muscles in 5 healthy male subjects, aged 24-41 years. An AC servomotor produced an ankle rotation of comfortably seated subjects in the direction to stretch the triceps surae muscle for the SLR and the tibialis anterior muscle for the LLRs. Following control measurements, after the oral administration of 50, 100, 150, and 300 mg of E-0646, the SLR and LLRs were recorded every 2 hours for 4 or 6 hours with simultaneous blood sampling to measure E-0646 plasma levels. Electromyograms (EMGs) of the soleus and tibialis anterior muscles were recorded with surface electrodes on each muscle belly. A precision potentiometer was used to measure the ankle angle. The soleus SLR, evoked by a torque pulse (7 msec duration) of one of 5 different amplitudes, decreased 2 hours after the 300 mg administration. A SLR decrease was also found in a simple relationship between the integrated SLR EMG and the angular velocity at 20 msec after the torque onset, in which the slope and intercept of the relationship changed. The plasma E-0646 level roughly correlated with the SLR decrease. No significant change of the SLR was observed when dosage was less than 150 mg. The LLRs of the tibialis anterior muscle were tested under the instruction "resist when perturbed" during a weak isometric contraction against a constant plantar flexion torque.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Behavior of the long-latency stretch reflex prior to voluntary movement.

Attempts to elicit stretch reflexes from the 'relaxed' human long thumb flexor were made at various times prior to the onset of a voluntary contraction of that muscle. When the muscle was fully relaxed, there were no short or long-latency responses at the rates of stretch employed (about 600 degrees/sec). Without complete relaxation there was a small long-latency response, which occasionally increased in amplitude as the time for voluntary activation approached. This augmentation seemed to be a result of a subtle parallel augmentation of background EMG, anticipating the major voluntary contraction, thereby increasing the gain of the long-latency stretch response.

Electroencephalography↗
PubMed1982

A range of different stretch reflex responses in the human thumb.

1. Imposed sinusoids were used to assess the resistance to movement at the thumb interphalangeal joint.2. The resistance to high-frequency movements (> 12 Hz) increased when the subject exerted a large voluntary flexing force; this increase was attributable to a greater non-reflex resistance of the contracting flexor muscles. This resistance was essentially ;visco-elastic', and the force was phase-advanced on joint position. At moderately large forces (up to half maximal), however, the resistance changed with changing frequency, and over a range 4-12 Hz the vectors which represented joint stiffness described the wide path that is characteristic of an active stretch reflex (Brown, Rack & Ross, 1982a). At frequencies between about 4 and 6 Hz the force was sometimes phase-delayed on position, and the joint exhibited a negative viscous stiffness. When the voluntary flexing force was very large the reflex contributed less to the resisting force, which was then phase-advanced on position at all frequencies of movement.3. Large amplitude movements did not generate correspondingly large reflex responses; as the amplitude of movement was increased, the reflex component of the resisting force became relatively smaller and the total resisting force was then phase-advanced on joint position at all frequencies.4. The reflex component of the resisting force (as indicated by the excursion of the joint stiffness vectors) varied from subject to subject and from time to time; the reflex usually became more active late in an experiment when the subject had exerted flexing forces against the imposed movement for some minutes. Extreme fatigue, however, diminished the amount of reflex force.5. In some subjects the joint-stiffness records indicated a particularly vigorous reflex response at 8-11 Hz, in contrast to a rather feeble response at 6 or 7 Hz. It is suggested that the reflex pathways then had a relatively low impedance to afferent signals that were modulated at 8-11 Hz, related perhaps to the firing patterns of the most recently recruited motoneurones.6. Under the conditions of these experiments, it appears that the stretch reflex has too small a gain to function as a very effective error-controlled position servo-mechanism.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

CNV, stretch reflex and reaction time correlates of preparation for movement direction and force.

Ten human subjects were tested in a pre-cued choice reaction time (RT) paradigm in which the warning stimulus gave a varying amount of prior information regarding the direction (flexion or extension) or force level (weak or strong) for an impending right forearm movement. During the preparatory period (PP), either CNV was monitored from 8 scalp leads, or elbow stretch reflexes were tested at selected times using mechanical torque steps as stimuli. Mean RTs increased as the amount of prior information decreased. The locus of maximal rate of increase of scalp negativity migrated from the frontal lobe to the parietal lobe during the PP, under all conditions. Using laplacian derivations, it was found that the CNV at Cz did not distinguish among the different information conditions, whereas the CNV over the somatosensory arm area was greatest when direction information was given in advance. The CNV over the arm motor region was greatest when force information was available. The last 100 msec of the PP was characterized by the development of current sources over the premotor region for full information, and over the somatosensory region for the other conditions. This coincided with the appearance of very large late stretch reflexes or triggered reactions in the prepared agonist for full information, indicating that the intended movement had been fully processed by this time and awaited only a sensory trigger. The data support a parametric model of motor preparation, with direction and force being processed by at least partially independent networks.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Changes in the stretch reflex of the human first dorsal interosseous muscle during different tasks.

1. Subjects flexed the interphalangeal joint of the index finger against a lever which was mounted on the shaft of a torque motor. 2. There were two different tasks. In one, the subject attempted to maintain a constant finger position in the face of changing forces, whereas in the other the subject attempted to maintain a constant force while the motor moved the lever. 3. Each of the tasks was interrupted by ramp extensions. These evoked stretch reflexes which were recorded in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle electromyogram (EMG). 4. Long-latency (55-90 ms) reflex responses were larger during the 'maintain position' task than during the 'maintain force' task, although the ramp extensions began from a similar finger position, a similar flexing force, and with a similar amount of FDI EMG activity. 5. It is concluded that the nature of the task has an effect on the magnitude of the long-latency stretch reflex.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Considerations on mechanisms of focussed signal transmission in the multi-channel muscle stretch reflex system.

This paper presents theoretical considerations on the possibility of topographically ordered signal transmission in the control system of the muscle stretch reflex. It is investigated how correlations between Ia fibres from primary muscle spindle endings in conjunction with an appropriate connectivity of Ia fibres and motoneurones enable the stretch reflex system to trace local routes through the spinal cord. The complex data processing capabilities of the motoneuronal soma-dendritic membrane system are fully taken into account, and it is argued that correlations between inputs to this system may play an important role for signal transmission through the spinal cord.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Effects of ischemic nerve block on the early and late components of the stretch reflex in the human forearm.

To investigate the peripheral afferent mechanisms which mediate the short latency (M1) and long latency (M2) components of the stretch reflex, we have recorded EMG responses to extension perturbations at the wrist before and following inflation of a blood pressure cuff around the upper arm. After approximately 30 min of ischemia, the reflexes had almost completely disappeared, although subjects were still able to activate the forearm muscles voluntarily. As the ischemic block developed, the M2 component began to decrease in amplitude sooner than M1, and up to the time of complete loss of reflex activity, the suppression of M2 was relatively greater than that of M1. These results suggest that M2 may be mediated by a population of afferent fibers different from the Ia afferents which are believed to generate the M1 response.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Effect of cutaneous nerve stimulation on voluntary and stretch reflex electromyographic activity in wrist flexors in humans.

1. Changes in electromyographic (e.m.g.) activity in the wrist flexors of normal human subjects were studied in response to electrical stimulation of digital nerves and to sudden extension perturbations at the wrist produced by a torque motor. 2. With the subjects maintaining a steady voluntary contraction, stimulation of the digital nerves produced a series of excitatory and inhibitory changes in the tonic e.m.g. activity from the wrist flexors. The most prominent and consistent response was a period of e.m.g. inhibition beginning 39 ms after the stimulus and lasting for approximately 36 ms. 3. The stretch reflex evoked by extension perturbations of the wrist consisted of an early response (M1) with an onset latency of approximately 30 ms, and a late response (M2) with an onset latency of approximately 60 ms. 4. The electrical stimuli and the mechanical perturbations were then delivered together, varying the interval between them so that the period of inhibition resulting from the electrical stimuli occurred at the same time as the M1 or M2 components of the stretch reflex, or during the later voluntary response. 5. The amount of e.m.g. inhibition during the M2 component was significantly greater than that during M1 (P less than 0.02). This result is compatible with the view that M1 and M2 are mediated by separate neural pathways.

Adult↗
PubMed1973

Evidence from the use of vibration during procaine nerve block that the spindle group II fibres contribute excitation to the tonic stretch reflex of the decerebrate cat.

1. Experiments have been performed to test the hypothesis that the group II fibres from the secondary endings of the muscle spindle provide an excitatory contribution to the tonic stretch reflex of the decerebrate cat. They have consisted of studying the effect of fusimotor paralysis by procaine, applied to the muscle nerve, on the reflex response to the combined stimuli of stretch (5-9 mm at 5 mm/sec) and of high-frequency vibration (100-150 Hz, 150 mum).2. The reflex response to the combined stimuli was found to be paralysed in two distinct stages which paralleled those of the ordinary stretch reflex described earlier. The two phases of paralysis may be attributed to an early paralysis of the gamma efferents followed by a later paralysis of the Ia afferents and alpha motor fibres. However, the Ia discharges elicited by the combined stimuli, unlike those elicited by simple stretch, should have remained unchanged on gamma efferent paralysis since the Ia firing frequency may be presumed to have been clamped at the vibration frequency by the occurrence of one-to-one ;driving'. The early reduction of the response to the combined stimuli may thus be attributed to the removal of a stretchevoked autogenetic excitatory input other than that long known to be provided by the Ia pathway. This supports the view that the spindle group II fibres have such an action, since their firing will be appropriately reduced on gamma efferent paralysis by removal of their pre-existing fusimotor bias; there is no evidence for the existence of any other group of fibres with the right properties.3. Recording of compound action potentials and of single units confirmed the great sensitivity of the gamma efferents to procaine but showed that the group II fibres were nearly as resistant as the Ia fibres and alpha motor fibres.4. The reliability of one-to-one driving of the Ia discharges by the vibration was tested in control experiments in which the reflex was elicited by an asymmetrical vibratory waveform with a rapid rising phase (1.5 or 1.9 msec at 140 Hz) and a slower falling phase. Recordings from single units showed that the use of this wave form greatly diminished any tendency to double driving (2 spikes/cycle of vibration) during the dynamic phase of stretch and never elicited it during the static phase of stretch when the reflex measurements were made. These ;pulsed' vibrations elicited reflex contractions which were of the same general size and which were paralysed in the same two phases by procaine as those elicited by sinusoidal vibrations. This eliminates the possibility that the early phase of paralysis might have been due to conversion of the pattern of Ia firing from double to single driving on gamma efferent paralysis.5. Wedensky inhibition of the afferent fibres could not be held responsible for the early phase of paralysis.6. The results are taken to strengthen the hypothesis that the spindle group II fibres contribute excitation rather than inhibition to the stretch reflex. The particular support derived from the present experiments is that all measurements of the size of the reflex at various times were made with the muscle at the same length so that the findings cannot be attributed to the tension-length properties of muscle. The detailed mechanism of the excitation, however, remains to be established and certain of the present findings suggest that it may not be a direct one.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1990

Conditioning of the spinal stretch reflex: implications for rehabilitation.

The purpose of this article is to describe a new technique that can potentially be applied to patients with hyperactive spinal stretch reflexes (SSRs). The progression of clinical research from conditioning of individual muscles or muscle groups (electromyographic biofeedback) to conditioning SSRs is explained. Research data from subhuman primates in addition to the first human experiments are reviewed. Potential applications of SSR conditioning are discussed, as are the issues requiring further delineation and research before the specificity of a training effect can be ascertained.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Changes in the short- and long-latency stretch reflex components of the triceps surae muscle during ischaemia in man.

1. In order to establish the afferent source responsible for the M1 and M2 stretch reflex components of the voluntarily activated human triceps surae muscle, mechanical reflex testing was applied before and during ischaemic blockade of the lower limb. This procedure is known to affect large, fast conducting afferent fibres earliest, specifically Ia afferents arising from muscle spindle afferents. 2. It was found that both the M1 and M2 components were eliminated at the same time, at a point when the P40 peak in the somatosensory evoked potential, produced from stimulation of fast conducting peripheral afferents, was also abolished. This evidence indicates that both reflex components are mediated by information carried by muscle spindle Ia afferents. 3. The M1 component was selectively increased in the early stages of ischaemia. The M2 response did not increase during this period, but showed a tendency to reduce in amplitude. This effect may arise as the result of increased recruitment of motor units in the M1 component reducing the number of units available for activation in the M2 response. 4. These results do not support the view that the M2 reflex component of the triceps surae muscle is mediated by secondary afferent information, but indicate, rather, that both the M1 and M2 components are mediated by Ia afferent information acting on spinal pathways.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Adaptive plasticity and diurnal rhythm in the primate spinal stretch reflex are independent phenomena.

Recent studies have revealed two phenomena producing considerable variation in amplitude of the initial, purely segmental, largely monosynaptic, response to sudden muscle stretch, the spinal stretch reflex (SSR), without change in background EMG activity or initial muscle length. The first is small and short-term, a modest diurnal rhythm in SSR amplitude. The second is large and long-term, marked adaptive change in SSR amplitude which occurs gradually over weeks and months when animals are rewarded for such change. This second phenomenon may involve persistent segmental alteration, and, if so, could constitute a technically accessible substrate of memory. The present study compared the two phenomena and sought evidence of interaction between them. The diurnal rhythm persisted, without change in phase and with only minimal change in amplitude, despite the occurrence of marked adaptive change. Animals did not utilize the rhythm to increase reward percentage by altering daily performance schedules. These results suggest that the mechanisms of the diurnal rhythm and of adaptive plasticity in SSR amplitude are separate and independent. The diurnal rhythm's effect on movement was not altered by adaptive change in SSR amplitude. This effect was comparable to adaptive change's effect on movement when both were expressed as change in movement/change in SSR amplitude.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1997

Soleus muscle length, stretch reflex excitability, and the contractile properties of muscle in children and adults: a study of the functional joint angle.

The influence of the joint angle on stretch reflex excitability of the soleus muscle at the ankle has been studied in 22 children aged 3.9 to 13.6 years and 9 adults aged 19 to 70 years. For all subjects, reflex EMG and mechanical twitch torque gain were trivial at resting plantar flexion. The reflex EMG gain reached a maximum between -15 degrees and -10 degrees of plantar flexion beyond the neutral angle, 0 degrees, defined as the foot at right angle to the tibia, diminishing steeply with further dorsiflexion. The reflex mechanical gain rose to a peak between 0 degrees and +10 degrees of dorsiflexion beyond neutral, declining steeply thereafter. By contrast, axonally stimulated muscle twitch torque increased serially up to +30 degrees dorsiflexion beyond neutral. For the soleus muscle, the optimal reflex neuromechanical angle lies approximately midway between the angle for optimal reflex EMG gain (in mild plantar flexion, at which the largest and strongest motor units can be activated) and the optimal muscle mechanical angle (at the extreme of soleus muscle dorsiflexion). These studies confirm that the excitability of the spinal alpha motor neuron pool in vivo is strongly influenced by muscle length and explain the variability in reflex excitability within and between subjects, if the joint angle is not controlled. They also indicate how posture influences movement, agreeing with the known function of the soleus muscle in the stance phase of gait and the modulation of motor unit recruitment during voluntary alternating movements at the ankle. Soleus muscle twitch characteristics show a fivefold to eightfold increase in peak force associated with a tenfold reduction in compliance in the first two decades of life and an apparent speeding up of twitch time in the first decade.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Changes in the soleus stretch reflex at different pedaling frequencies and crank loads during pedaling.

The influence of pedaling frequency and crank load on the sensitivity of the soleus short latency stretch reflex (SLR) was examined in nine healthy subjects during pedaling by the use of a custom-built robotic actuator. The SLR decreased successively in downstroke when pedaling frequency increased from 20 to 40 and 60 revolutions per minute at a constant crank load (p = .005). The SLR was unchanged at crank load increases of 2.6 or 5.1 Nm at a constant pedaling frequency (p > .05). Accordingly, it was shown that increased muscle activation level as a consequence of added crank load and increased movement speed does not increase the sensitivity of the soleus SLR.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Variation of magnitude and timing of wrist flexor stretch reflex across the full range of voluntary activation.

This paper reports an investigation of the magnitude and timing of the stretch reflex over the full range of activation of flexor carpi radialis. While it is well established that the magnitude of the reflex increases with the level of muscle activation, there have been few studies of reflex magnitude above 50% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) and virtually no study of the timing of the response in relation to activation level. Continuous small amplitude (approximately 2 degrees) perturbations were applied to the wrist of 12 normal subjects while they maintained contraction levels between 2.5-95% MVC, monitored via surface electromyography (EMG). Both narrow band (4-5 Hz) and broad band (0-10 Hz) stretch perturbations were employed. The gain (EMG output/stretch input) and phase advance of the reflex varied with the level of muscle activation in a similar manner for both types of stretch, but there were significant differences in the patterns of change due to stretch bandwidth. Consistent with previous studies, the group average reflex gain initially increased with muscle activation level and then saturated. Inspection of individual data, however, revealed that the gain reached a peak at about 60% MVC and then decreased at higher contraction levels, the pattern across the full range of activation being well described by quadratic functions (mean r2=0.82). This quadratic pattern has not been reported previously for the neural reflex response in any muscle but is consistent with the pattern that has been reliably observed in studies of the mechanical reflex response in lower limb muscles. In contrast to the pattern for reflex gain, the phase advance of the reflex (at a stretch frequency of 4.5 Hz) decreased linearly from approximately 130 degrees at the lowest contraction levels to approximately 50 degrees as maximum voluntary contraction was reached (mean r2=0.69). This decrease corresponds to a delay of 49 ms introduced centrally in reflex pathways. All subjects showed clearly defined quadratic functions relating reflex gain and linear functions relating reflex phase to activation level, but there were considerable individual differences in the slopes of these functions which point to systematic differences in synaptic behaviour of the motoneuron pool. Thus, there was wide inter-subject variation in both the contraction level at which the reflex gain reached a peak (31-69% MVC) and the highest target contraction level that could be sustained during reflex measurement (47-95% MVC). A high correlation between these variables (r2=0.78) suggests a linear relation between afferent support of contraction and muscle fatigability. The decline in reflex gain at high levels of muscle activation signals a failure of muscle afferent input and subjects in whom the gain reached a peak and declined early were unable to sustain higher target contraction levels. The results of the study show that both the timing and magnitude of the stretch reflex vary markedly over the full range of voluntary muscle activation. The pattern of variation may account for why the stretch reflex contributes most effectively to muscle mechanics over the lower half of the range of activation, while progressive reductions in both gain and phase advance at higher levels render the reflex mechanically less effective and make tremor more likely.

Action Potentials↗