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Cited by 182Motor Control and AdaptationMuscle activation and electromyography studiesMuscle Physiology and Disorders

On the function of muscle and reflex partitioning

Windhorst, Uwe, Hamm, Thomas M., Stuart, Douglas G.·1989·Behavioral and Brain Sciences
DOI 10.1017/s0140525x00024985
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Abstract

Studies have shown that in the mammalian neuromuscular system stretch reflexes are localized within individual muscles. Neuromuscular compartmentalization, the partitioning of sensory output from muscles, and the partitioning of segmental pathways to motor nuclei have also been demonstrated. This evidence indicates that individual motor nuclei and the muscles they innervate are not homogeneous functional units. An analysis of the functional significance of reflex localization and partitioning suggests that segmental control mechanisms are based on subdivisions of motor nuclei–muscle complexes. A partitioned organization of segmental control mechanisms could utilize (1) the potential functional diversity of muscle fiber types, (2) the variety of mechanical actions of individual muscles arising from their distributed origins and insertions, and (3) diverse architectural features such as intramuscular variations in pinnation and complex in-series and in-parallel arrangements of muscle fibers. The differentiated activity observed in some muscles during natural movements also calls for localized segmental control mechanisms. Partitioning may also play a role in mechanical interactions between contracting motor units and in increasing the stability of neuromuscular systems. The functional advantages of reflex localization and partitioning suggest they are probably common features of segmental systems, whose organization reflects the structure and function of their associated neuromuscular systems.

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Authors
Windhorst, U., Hamm, T. M., & Stuart, D. G.
Affiliations
  • University of Göttingen (DE)
  • Barrow Neurological Institute (US)
  • University of Arizona (US)
ORCID
Venue
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1989-12
Volume
12
Issue
4
Pages
629-645
ISSN
  • 0140-525X (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-1825
DOI
10.1017/s0140525x00024985
OpenAlex
W2085613243
Cited by
182
References
338
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 3
FWCI
8.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 7370 d)
Locations
Behavioral and Brain Sciences (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Muscle activation and electromyography studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
Keywords
neuromuscular system, motor nuclei, muscle fiber type, muscle architecture, muscle origin and insertion

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