Distribution of fusimotor axons to intrafusal muscle fibres in cat tenuissimus spindles as determined by the glycogen-depletion method

Muscle spindle and fusimotor activity in locomotion

Mammals may exhibit different forms of locomotion even within a species. A particular form of locomotion (e.g. walk, run, bound) appears to be selected by supraspinal commands, but the precise pattern, i.e. phasing of limbs and muscles, is generated within the spinal cord by so-called central pattern generators. Peripheral sense organs, particularly the muscle spindle, play a crucial role in modulating the central pattern generator output. In turn, the feedback from muscle spindles is itself modulated by static and dynamic fusimotor (gamma) neurons. The activity of muscle spindle afferents and fusimotor neurons during locomotion in the cat is reviewed here. There is evidence for some alpha-gamma co-activation during locomotion involving static gamma motoneurons. However, both static and dynamic gamma motoneurons show patterns of modulation that are distinct from alpha motoneuron activity. It has been proposed that static gamma activity may drive muscle spindle secondary endings to signal the intended movement to the central nervous system. Dynamic gamma motoneuron drive appears to prime muscle spindle primary endings to signal transitions in phase of the locomotor cycle. These findings come largely from reduced animal preparations (decerebrate) and require confirmation in freely moving intact animals.

The innervation of the muscle spindle: a personal history

I present a brief review of current understanding of the innervation of the mammalian muscle spindle, from a personal historical perspective. The review begins with comparative studies on the numbers of spindle afferents and considers how their relative abundance may best be assessed. This is followed by an examination of the distribution and some functional properties of the motor innervation. The primary ending is the subject of the final section, in particular, I look at what can be learned from serial sectioning and volumetric reconstruction, and present new results on a model and simulations concerning sensory terminal deformation during stretch.

Intrafusal motor innervation: a quantitative histological analysis of tenuissimus muscle spindles in the cat

A quantitative analysis of the motor innervation of intrafusal muscle fibres is described, based on teased silver-impregnated spindles of the tenuissimus muscle of the cat. Included in the analysis are the number and distribution of intrafusal branches of both skeletofusimotor (beta) and purely fusimotor (gamma) axons, and the form of their endings. The number of axonal branches per spindle was found to follow binomial probability distributions, as had previously been shown for the afferent axons. There was a strong correlation between the numbers of gamma intrafusal branches and afferent axons, but none for the intrafusal branches of beta axons. The degree of segregation of gamma input to bag2 and chain fibres was assessed and was found, among other things, to be related to the presence of secondary sensory endings in the same pole. In this and other respects it did not appear to have the properties that would be expected if independent activation of the bag2 and chain fibres were to be functionally important. Morphometric analysis of the motor endings supplied to bag2 or chain fibres by gamma axons revealed some differences between those of intrafusal branches with segregated as opposed to unsegregated distributions, but this cannot be taken as evidence of more than one type of static gamma motoneuron because of the likely contribution of other influential factors such as fibre size. Finally, the relevance of studies on intrafusal motor innervation to the concept of the motor unit and its development are discussed.

Incidence of non-driving excitation of Ia afferents during ramp frequency stimulation of static gamma-axons in cat hindlimbs

1. The aim of this investigation was to identify static gamma-axons which do not drive any Ia afferents at any stimulus frequency in any spindle which they supply, and to determine their occurrence in various hindlimb muscles (peroneus tertius, brevis, longus and tenuissimus). 2. Ia responses to static gamma stimulation were classified as 'non-driven' when the discharge did not follow the stimulation frequency, or its subharmonics, at any time during a linear increase in stimulus frequency up to 150 Hz lasting 2-3 s, and when tested at two muscle lengths--except in the tenuissimus muscle. In almost all experiments, cross-correlograms were used in addition to evaluate the percentage of these 'non-driven' responses in which a time-locking of discharge to stimulus pulses was obscured by irregularity of the Ia discharge. 3. In 104 spindles, out of 347 responses to stimulation of single static gamma-axons 332 (93%) could be characterized, and of these, 57% (183) were of the non-driven type. The mean number of static gamma effects characterized per spindle was 4.1 (fourteen experiments). In the large majority of spindles (79%, 82 out of 104) at least one response was of the non-driven type. 4. Of the static gamma-axons studied 16% were called 'non driving' ('ndr' gamma s-axons) because they elicited non-driven effects, and since they had the same qualitative effect consistently in all spindles whose discharge was modulated by stimulating them they were called specific 'ndr' axons. If axons with non-driven effects, but acting on one spindle were included in the 'non-driving' category the proportion was 23%. Of spindles tested 63% were innervated by at least one 'ndr' axon. 5. Absence of Ia driving during ramp frequency stimulation of gamma s-axons has been equated with selective bag2 contraction. All the non-driven responses identified in this study cannot be attributed to exclusive bag2 involvement because the total number of 'ndr' responses was too high. In fact, in the isolated spindle preparation bag2 and chain co-contraction were shown to elicit non-driven responses, so chain contraction is not detected reliably in all experimental conditions. Possibly chain fibre contraction is sometimes too weak to dominate the response, or can be of a non-driving character.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

A study of glycogen depletion and the fibre-type composition of cat skeleto-fusimotor units

1. We have used the glycogen-depletion technique, combined with myofibrillar ATPase (mATPase) staining for muscle fibre type, to study the fibre-type composition of four skeleto-fusimotor (beta) units in cat peroneus tertius, namely, one beta dynamic (beta d) unit and three beta static (beta s) units. 2. Depletion of glycogen was observed in serial cross-sections of thirty-four beta-unit extrafusal muscle fibres of various types traced from origin to insertion. No fibre was depleted of glycogen throughout its length; depletion was restricted to a number of zones, usually about five. Oxidative (type I) and oxidative-glycolytic (type IIA) fibres were depleted for a significantly greater proportion of their total length than glycolytic IIB fibres. 3. The fibre-type composition of the beta d unit was determined by tracing its fibres from end to end. The muscle unit consisted of one intrafusal bag1 fibre and ninety-three extrafusal muscle fibres comprising seventy-six type I fibres, eleven IIC fibres, and six fibres that changed from IIC to I during the course of their length (IIC/I fibres). The extrafusal fibre-type composition was thus 81.7% I plus 18.3% IIC and IIC/I. 4. The three beta s units (beta s1, beta s2, beta s3) were all fast-contracting and fatigued rapidly. Identification of their extrafusal fibre types, made in 1 mm2 areas sampled from different parts of each unit, gave mixed compositions as follows: beta s1, IIB + 6.7% IIA; beta s2, IIB + 5.8% IIA; beta s3, IIB + 29.9% IIA. The intrafusal component of each unit included either one or two long chain fibres. 5. In a discussion of the results, the fact that the continuous stimulation of extrafusal muscle fibres does not deplete them of glycogen throughout their length is examined in relation to the work of others who have assumed that it did. With regard to the finding of mixed extrafusal fibre types in the beta units, a distinction is drawn between minimal (around 5%) and moderate mixing. It is suggested that minimal mixing may occur in any motor unit as the outcome of endplate degeneration with foreign replacement, but that moderate mixing indicates an on-going process of conversion from one fibre type to another which in the adult may prove to occur only among beta units.

Morphometry and histoenzymology of the hamster tenuissimus and its muscle spindles

Muscle spindles and extrafusal fibers in the tenuissimus muscle of mature golden Syrian hamsters were studied morphologically and quantitatively using several light microscopic techniques. Muscle spindles were identified in serial-transverse frozen-sections of whole muscles stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Five tenuissimus muscles were examined from origin to insertion, and the locations of individual receptors were plotted in camera-lucida reconstructions. Spindles were found in proximity to the main neurovascular bundle in the central core of each muscle. A range of 16-20 receptors was noted per muscle. The mean muscle spindle index (the total number of spindles per gram of muscle weight) was 503 and the average spindle length was 7.5 mm. Oxidative enzyme and myosin adenosine-triphosphatase (ATPase) staining profiles were also evaluated in the intrafusal and extrafusal fibers in each muscle. Even numbers of type I and type IIA extrafusal fibers were distributed homogeneously throughout all muscle cross-sections. Histochemical staining patterns varied along the lengths of the three intrafusal fiber types. Nuclear chain fibers possessed staining properties similar to the type IIA extrafusal fibers and exhibited no regional variations. Bag1 fibers displayed staining variability, particularly when treated for myosin ATPase under acid preincubation conditions. Some spindles were isolated under darkfield illumination and then either treated with 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD)-phallacidin to detect filamentous actin by fluorescence microscopy, or prepared for conventional scanning electron microscopy (SEM). By fluorescence microscopy, a registered actin banding-pattern was observed in the sarcomeres of the intrafusal fibers, and variations in the intensity of banding were noted amongst different fibers. SEM revealed punctate sensory nerve endings that adhered intimately to the surfaces of underlying intrafusal fibers in the equatorial and juxtaequatorial regions. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM) these endings appeared crescent-shaped and were enveloped by external laminae. Each profile contained numerous mitochondria and cytoskeletal organelles. The high spindle density observed in this muscle suggests that the hamster tenuissimus may function in hindlimb proprioception.

The distribution of static gamma-axons in the tenuissimus muscle of the cat

1. The distribution of static gamma-axons within and among muscle spindles of the tenuissimus muscle has been studied in the anaesthetized cat, on the basis of the effects on the responses of primary endings when bag2 or chain fibres or both are activated by static gamma-stimulation. 2. Locations of spindles were marked for subsequent histological analysis using teased, silver-impregnated preparations. 3. Static effects were classified into: (i) biassing; (ii) driving; or (iii) indeterminate categories. 4. Critical correlations established that the biassing type was produced by bag2 activity, either alone or in combination with chain fibres, whereas the driving type was produced by chain fibres active alone. Indirect evidence suggested that indeterminate effects were produced by bag2 and chain fibres active together. 5. The static gamma-axons showed some differential distribution according to their conduction velocities: faster-conducting axons were likely to be more widely distributed among spindles but less likely to innervate chain fibres alone than were more slowly conducting axons. 6. The results are discussed in terms of their possible functional and developmental significance.

Tonic vibration reflexes elicited during fatigue from maximal voluntary contractions in man

1. In the present study on human foot dorsiflexor muscles we have examined the effects of high-frequency (150 Hz) muscle vibration on weak or moderate voluntary contractions (maintained by constant effort) and on maximal voluntary contractions (MCVs) of (i) non-fatigued muscles, (ii) muscles fatigued by sustained MVCs and (iii) muscles deprived of gamma-fibre innervation by partial anaesthetic nerve block. The motor outcome of the voluntary dorsiflexion efforts was assessed by measuring the firing rates of single motor units in the anterior tibial (TA) muscle, the mean voltage EMG activity from the pretibial muscles and foot dorsiflexion force. 2. With the subject instructed to exert constant effort in maintaining a weak or moderate contraction, superimposed vibration caused an enhancement of EMG activity and contraction force. 3. Previous claims that muscle vibration has no facilitatory effect on motor output in MVCs were found to hold true for non-fatigued but not for fatigued muscles. Thus, the fatigue-induced decline in EMG activity and motor unit firing rates was counteracted by short periods (less than 10-20 s) of superimposed vibration. However, with longer vibration periods it seemed as if the initial facilitation converted into an opposite effect which accentuated the fatigue-induced decline in motor output and contraction force. 4. Like muscle fatigue, a partial anesthetic block of the deep peroneal nerve, supposedly interrupting transmission in gamma-motor fibres, caused a reduction of MVC motor unit firing rates which could be counteracted by muscle vibration. In prolonged MVCs performed during the block, motor unit firing rates did not show the normal progressive decline from an initially high level, but stayed at a relatively constant low level throughout the contraction period. 5. Even though alternative interpretations are possible, the results agree with the hypotheses (i) that in sustained MVCs, fatigue processes occur not only in extrafusal but also in intrafusal muscle fibres, (ii) that the intrafusal fatigue leads to a reduction of the voluntary drive conveyed to the alpha-motoneurones via the gamma-loop and (iii) that vibration-induced activity in group Ia afferents can act as a substitute for the diminished fusimotor drive.

Individual differences in multiple-bag spindles of cat superficial lumbrical muscles

A total of 791 spindle poles was analysed with regard to intrafusal fibre composition in the first and second superficial lumbrical muscles from the right and left hindfeet of 9 male and 5 female adult cats. Bag and chain muscle fibres were identified by their myofibrillar ATPase staining profile in the B region, after either acid or alkaline preincubation. A high proportion of the spindle pole population (43.2%) was observed to contain three or more (up to 5) bag fibres; those poles were classified as multiple-bag spindle poles. In the 334 muscle spindles in which both poles were studied, 42 bag fibres (12.6%) were found to be of the 'mixed' type, that is a fibre in which the two poles differ in their ATPase staining profile (either bag1/bag2 or bag/chain). The variability of the intrafusal fibre content observed in spindles of these muscles has been studied in relation to individual characteristics such as sex, weight and side of the animal. In general, multiple-bag spindles are more frequent in male than in female cats and in right as compared to left side muscles. Nearly all 'mixed' bag intrafusal fibres (38 out of 42) were observed in spindles containing 3 or more bag fibres. In 3-bag spindles the proportion of 'mixed' bag spindles is approximately the same in male and female cats. The ratio of 'dynamic' (mean polar bag1 content) to 'static' (mean polar bag2 plus chain fibre content) intrafusal effectors per muscle tends to increase in spindles of right side muscles and to decrease in the heaviest animals. The quantitative and qualitative differences in fibre content of spindles observed in first lumbrical muscles of different animals suggest that the spindle fibre composition, especially that of the 'dynamic' bag1 fibre, may be related to individual predetermined and/or acquired factors.

Possible fusimotor innervation to frog muscle spindles

In some muscle spindles located in or near the red area of semitendinosus muscle of the bull frog, a fine motor axon innervates the intracapsular compact zone, without any branches onto the extrafusal muscle fibers. The fine motor axon is 3.9 microns in mean diameter (measured in living axon) and 9.8 m X s-1 in mean conduction velocity at 20 degrees C. A ramp-and-hold stretch during 20 Hz repetitive stimulation of the fine motor axon markedly increased the rate of afferent discharges during static phase. Histochemical studies indicated depletion of glycogen in a compact zone along a small diameter intrafusal muscle fiber of the muscle spindles frozen immediately after tetanic stimulation of the fine motor axon. These results suggest that the fine motor axon is a fusimotor system in the frog muscle spindle.

The transverse tubular system of cat intrafusal muscle fibres

A modified staining technique for transverse tubular and sarcoplasmic reticular systems was used to investigate their occurrence in different types of intrafusal muscle fibres in cat tail spindles. Intrafusal muscle fibres can be divided into three basic regions, namely, the periaxial space (A-region), intracapsular area (B-region) and the extracapsular area (C-region); the components of these systems were seen to vary in structure and distribution. The occurrence of these systems also varied among the different types of intrafusal muscle fibres, namely, the bag1, bag2 and chain fibres. In bag1 fibres components were sparse in the A-region, increased slightly in the B-region, but were most developed in the C-region; triads were consistently located at the border between A- and I-bands. In bag2 fibres membrane components were noted in the A-region but were more abundant in the B-region where some tubular components showed transverse and longitudinal branches linked together in the form of a network; membrane systems diminished towards the C-region. The majority of triads were located within the A-bands. In chain fibres the membrane systems occurred more commonly in the A-region, while in the B- and C-regions, the transverse tubular system possessed numerous transverse and longitudinal branches forming irregularly distributed tubular networks. Some tubular branches were dilated, while other branches terminated as sacs among arrays of the sarcoplasmic reticular system in I-bands. Some transverse tubules bifurcated into two branches with numbers of dilated sarcoplasmic reticular cisternae lying on either side, or between, the branches. Triads sometimes occurred between A- and I-bands, but, generally, were situated well within A-bands.

Activation of cat muscle spindles by static skeletofusimotor axons

The discharges from primary and secondary spindle endings of the cat peroneus tertius muscle were recorded during stimulation of static skeletofusimotor (static beta) axons at frequencies comparable with the presumed range of motoneuronal firing rates. When stimulated at 20-40/s, static beta-axons exerted typical static actions on the spindles they innervated, including activation of primary endings with reduction of their dynamic sensitivity and activation of secondary endings. For these frequencies, the extrafusal portions of static beta-motor units developed unfused contractions producing oscillations of tension within the muscle. After suppression of extrafusal contractions, the effects of the stimulation of static beta-axons on spindle discharge could persist unaltered, showing that extrafusal events need not interfere with the specific intrafusal actions of static beta-axons. Stimulation of a static beta-axon at 20-40/s often elicited a response of primary endings in which the discharge exactly followed the stimulation frequency, i.e. it was driven 1:1. Purely mechanical excitation of a spindle by unfused extrafusal contractions could also drive its discharge at the stimulation frequency. The persistence of static beta-driving after suppression of extrafusal contraction provided evidence for its intrafusal origin. Driving elicited by static beta-axons could persist during changes in muscle length, but small fluctuations in the delay between each impulse and the preceding stimulus were observed. These fluctuations were clearly related to the changes in muscle length, indicating that although the primary ending discharge remained driven 1:1 at the stimulation frequency, the receptor was not totally insensitive to length changes.

Resistance to glycogen depletion of motor units in the cat rectus lateralis muscle

In nembutal anesthetized adult cats, intracellular stimulation of single abducens motoneurones was used to elicit glycogen depletion of their muscle units. Stimulation by short trains (13 pulses at 40 Hz) delivered once a second, was applied for 20 to 110 min. The activation of the motor unit was monitored by intracellular recording of motoneurone action potentials and by EMG. After the end of stimulation, the muscle was excised and frozen to be cut in serial sections that were processed for demonstration of either glycogen, ATPases or SDH. In two experiments, a motor unit could be histochemically identified because 10-15 fibres showed zones of complete glycogen depletion measuring about 5 mm in length. All the depleted fibres had the same histochemical profile: ATPases reactions gave dark staining with alkaline preincubation and light staining with acid preincubation whereas SDH activity was low. In other experiments, prolonged stimulation produced either no depletion at all or very limited zones of partial depletion in a few muscle fibres.

Glycogen accumulation in rat cerebral cortex in dissociated cell culture

Incorporation of [3H]glucose into [3H]glycogen was demonstrated in individual coverslip cultures of dissociated rat cerebral cortex. The time course of incorporation of [3H] glucose into [3H]glycogen was investigated, and it was found that [3H]glycogen accumulation monotonically increased during at least the first hour of incubation with [3H]glucose. In order to identify which cells accumulate glycogen in these cultures we attempted to demonstrate cytochemically the localization of glycogen. We found, however, that conventional aqueous methods of glycogen cytochemistry did not reliably or consistently stain the cultures. By labelling glycogen using [3H]glucose, we were able to show that the entire [3H]glycogen compartment was extractable by water after ethanol fixation. Therefore we developed a non-aqueous technique which preserves tissue glycogen by exploiting its solubility properties. Using this technique we were able to cytochemically demonstrate glycogen in at least two different cell types in the cultures.

Form and classification of motor endings in mammalian muscle spindles

The presynaptic features of 234 motor endings supplied to cat hindlimb muscle spindles have been studied in teased, silver preparations, and the postsynaptic features of a further 27 endings have been studied in serial, 1 micron thick, transverse sections. In the presynaptic study motor endings received by the three types of intrafusal muscle fibre were compared with the endings supplied to spindles by the various functional categories of motor axon. Three forms of motor ending were found that had significantly different presynaptic features. These forms correspond closely to those previously identified in the literature as p1 (beta), p2 (dynamic gamma) and trail (static gamma). The results of the postsynaptic study showed that the degree of indentation of the intrafusal muscle fibres by motor axon terminals increases with greater distance from the primary ending, irrespective of muscle-fibre type. We conclude that the postsynaptic form of intrafusal motor endings is determined by distance from primary ending and muscle-fibre type. It is not determined by type of motor axon, and cannot be correlated with presynaptic form so as to produce a unified classification of intrafusal motor endings.

Histological study of motor innervation of nuclear bag1 intrafusal muscle fibers in the cat

The nerve supply to spindles of the cat tenuissimus muscle was reconstructed with light and electron microscopy of serial transverse sections. Fifty-two poles of the nuclear bag1 intrafusal muscle fiber were examined for motor innervation. The fiber poles were supplied by 71 myelinated motor axons that either terminated on bag1 fibers exclusively (93%) or coinnervated a chain fiber of the same intrafusal bundle (7%). No axons coinnervated both the bag1 and bag2 fibers. The unmyelinated preterminal segments of the axons were frequently short. Lengths and pre- and postsynaptic features of motor endings on bag1 fibers were variable. These features did not permit reliable classification of the endings into more than one morphological category. Moreover, the terminals of fusimotor (gamma) and skeletofusimotor (beta) axons on bag1 fibers appeared similar in cross-section. The degree of indentation of axon terminals into the surface of bag1 fibers increased with increasing distance from the spindle equator. However, cross-sectional areas of sole plates and axon terminals were relatively constant regardless of distance from the equator. The subjunctional membranes of both gamma and beta bag1 endings were typically smooth in contour. Bag1 endings differed from those on bag2 and typical chain fibers in having a thicker sole plate, frequently indented axon terminals, and unfolded subjunctional membranes. None of the bag1 endings resembled an extrafusal end plate. These observations indicated that (1) the dynamic (bag1) and static (bag2 and chain) intrafusal systems of the cat spindle are under separate motor control, and (2) the type of intrafusal fiber and the distance of the motor ending from the equator have a greater influence on the form and structure of bag1 endings than do supplying axons.

Nonselective motor innervation of nuclear bag1 intrafusal muscle fibers in the cat

The motor nerve supply to cat nuclear bag1 intrafusal muscle fibers was reconstructed from light and electron microscopy of serial transverse sections of spindles in the tenuissimus muscle. Twenty-six of thirty poles of bag1 fibers that were examined received motor innervation. Every innervated bag1 pole received at least one (range 1-3) selective motor axon that supplied this fiber type only. Four of the innervated bag1 poles (15%) received additional motor supply from a nonselective motor axon that also innervated one nuclear chain fiber in the same spindle pole. The chain fibers co-innervated with bag1 fibers were among the longest chain fibers although they were shorter than two long chain fibers also present in the spindle poles. In cross-sections stained with toluidine blue they displayed 1-3 equatorial nuclei side by side, and there were fewer intermyofibrillar granules in their polar regions than in most of the other chain fibers. The endings of nonselective motor axons on the bag1 and chain fibers were morphologically and ultrastructurally dissimilar. It is suggested that instances of common innervation of the (dynamic) bag1 fiber and a (static?) chain fiber represent an integral and, presumably, functionally meaningful part of the motor pattern in some cat spindles.

Glycogen depletion elicited in tenuissimus intrafusal muscle fibres by stimulation of static gamma-axons in the cat

In this study the experimental conditions used to elicit glycogen depletion in tenuissimus intrafusal muscle fibres were different from those used by Barker, Emonet-Dénand, Harker, Jami & Laporte (1976): the tenuissimus was left in situ; several (4-6) static gamma-axons were stimulated together; the blood flow through the muscle was not reduced during the periods of gamma stimulation except in two experiments; very much longer periods (up to 9 h) of intermittent stimulation by bursts at 50-500/s were used. Bag1 and bag2 fibres were identified by their different ATPase activities in the B region. In two experiments with normal circulation, test responses of several primary endings to short periods of stimulation at 50-100/s were still very strong after stimulation of several static gamma-axons for 5 and 9 h, respectively. Glycogen depletion was observed in a large number of chain and bag2 poles but in only one of nineteen bag1 poles examined. In two other experiments with normal circulation, there was a very pronounced reduction of the test responses after stimulation of several static gamma-axons for 7 and 9 h, respectively. Out of twenty-four bag1 poles examined, nineteen exhibited zones of depletion. In an experiment in which stimulation was conducted as in Barker et al. (1976), i.e. with reduction of muscle blood flow during 1 min periods of stimulation at 50-100/s, the primary endings still gave a strong response after fifteen periods of stimulation in contrast with the marked 'fatigue' that was constantly observed in the former study. No depleted intrafusal fibres were found in the spindles of this muscle. In a last experiment, after an initial pattern of stimulation similar to that described above, the new pattern of stimulation, but with periodical reduction of blood flow, was applied, leading to a 'fatigue' of the test responses in 2 h. In the spindles of this muscle three out of ten bag1 poles were depleted. The variability of glycogen depletion in bag1 fibres appears to be linked to the degree of spindle 'fatigue' which may develop after static gamma stimulation. It seems that in 'fatigued' spindles some factor or factors liberated by the contraction of neighbouring fibres may deplete glycogen in bag1 fibres by a non-neural mechanism. When, in spite of a prolonged stimulation of static gamma-axons, no fatigue of the test responses develops, zones of depletion in bag1 fibres--possibly of neural origin--are very rare, although a large proportion of bag2 and chain fibres are depleted.

Form and distribution of sensory terminals in cat hindlimb muscle spindles

The sensory innervation of cat hindlimb muscle spindles was studied by reconstruction, electron microscopy, and examination of teased, silver preparations to ascertain the form of the terminals and their distribution to bag1(b1), bag2(b2), and chain (c) muscle fibres. Reconstructions were made of two primary endings, one secondary ending, and the branching of four primary and six secondary axons. For the silver analysis spindles were teased from 14 different hindlimb muscles, the largest samples being from tenuissimus, peroneus brevis, p. longus, p. tertius, superficial lumbrical, extensor digitorum longus, and soleus. Among 310 spindles examined, 40 lacked ab1fibre. These were all portions of tandem spindles in which theb2fibre was continuous from one capsule, where it was accompanied byb1andcfibres, to another, in which it was accompanied bycfibres only. These have been designated ‘b2cspindle units’ as distinct from ‘b1b2cspindle units’.

The ultrastructure of cat fusimotor endings and their relationship to foci of sarcomere convergence in intrafusal fibres

1. Six muscle spindle poles, five from experiments in which foci of sarcomere convergence had been observed during stimulation of fusimotor axons, were serially sectioned for light and electron microscopy. Every somatic motor terminal was studied in ultrathin sections at several levels.2. In all six poles static gamma axons, or presumed static gamma axons, supplying the static bag(2) fibre and/or chain fibres had no terminations on the dynamic bag(1) fibre. In five poles, the dynamic bag(1) fibre was selectively innervated by dynamic gamma or beta axons save in one case where a dynamic gamma axon also innervated one chain fibre.3. Seventy-seven motor endings were of four distinct ultrastructural types: ;m(a) plates' lay superficially on the surface of static bag(2) or chain fibres; ;m(b) plates' were deeply indented into dynamic bag(1) fibres; in ;m(c) plates', found on chain fibres only, the muscle surface was thrown into projecting fingers between which the axon terminals were embedded; one type ;m(d) plate' was found, fully indented into a long chain fibre. A few plates of intermediate form (m(ab)) were variants of m(a) and m(b) plates.4. The muscle membrane beneath both m(a) and m(b) plates was smooth, or had a few wide, shallow folds; m(c) plates usually had wide, shallow subjunctional folds; numerous deep, narrow folds were characteristic of the m(d) plate. The length of unmyelinated pre-terminal axon or the number of sole plate nuclei were not useful diagnostic features.5. Obvious foci of sarcomere convergence in the capsular sleeve region of dynamic bag(1) and static bag(2) fibres coincided with the location of motor plates. Additional contraction foci were observed in the extracapsular region of dynamic bag(1) fibres where there was no motor innervation; contraction occurs principally in the outer half of these fibres. No foci of contraction or motor plates were observed in the extracapsular region of static bag(2) fibres; contraction in these fibres is typically mid-polar.6. In some poles local contraction of chain fibres centred on the location of m(c) plates. In others, very localized contraction occurred distal to the sites of m(a) plates. Both m(a) and m(c) plates were never found on the same pole of a chain fibre.7. Dynamic gamma or beta axons end in m(b) plates, probably equivalent to p(2) plates. The concept of distinctly different p(1) and p(2) plates on dynamic bag(1) fibres, supplied by dynamic beta and gamma axons, respectively, is not supported by ultrastructural evidence.8. Some static gamma axons end in multiple m(a) plates which correspond with ;trail endings', or in single large m(a) plates, on static bag(2) or chain fibres. The m(c) plates are the terminations of other static gamma, or occasionally dynamic gamma, axons on chain fibres. Static beta axons probably end in m(d) plates on long chain fibres which may correspond with p(1) plates.9. It is proposed that there are two types of static gamma motoneurone, one terminating in m(a) plates and the other in m(c) plates, possibly directed preferentially towards static bag(2) fibres and chain fibres, respectively.

Histochemical evidence for the existence of skeletofusimotor (beta) innervation in the primate

A total of ten alpha motor axons which innervated the peroneus brevis muscle were isolated in two cynomolgus monkeys. In each experiment, the isolated alpha axons were stimulated collectively to deplete glycogen from their muscle units. The muscle was then frozen quickly , cut serially, and stained for glycogen. Of the 52 muscle spindles that were examined, zones of glycogen depletion were found in the intrafusal fibres of 32 spindles. The glycogen-depleted motor units included both fast-twitch and slow-twitch types. Depleted zones were observed in all three types of intrafusal muscle fibres. It was concluded that skeletofusimotor (beta) efferents were among the stimulated motor axons. This finding constitutes the first anatomical evidence for the existence of beta innervation in the primate.

A study of motor nerve terminals on cat nuclear bag1 intrafusal muscle fibers using the ChE staining technique

Muscle spindles were traced in serial transverse sections of cat tenuissimus muscles. Histochemical staining for "myofibrillar" adenosine 5'-triphosphatase was employed to identify nuclear bag1 intrafusal muscle fibers. Staining for cholinesterases (ChE) was used to demonstrate the termination sites of motor axons along the fibers. Several types of ChE deposits could be distinguished along the bag1 fibers based on intensity of staining and morphological characteristics. Most ChE deposits could be classified as either the "pale" or the "nonpale" plates. Some ChE active areas fitted neither of these two categories. Among 328 ChE "plates" encountered on 192 bag, fiber poles, 197 (60%) were of the "pale" and 27 (8%) of the "nonpale" type with 104 (32%) remaining unclassified. These histochemical observations are discussed with regard to the current structural and functional concepts of motor innervation of the nuclear bag1 fiber. It is suggested that the histochemical (ChE staining intensity) and morphological (length and form) characteristics of bag1 fiber motor endings are not determined solely by the nature of the corresponding motor axons.

A histological study of the motor innervation of the cat's muscle spindle

The motor innervation of four muscle spindles from the tenuissimus muscle of the cat was demonstrated using reconstructions of 1 micrometer thick, serial transverse sections. Analysis of the results clearly indicates that the bag intrafusal muscle fibre usually does not receive a static fusimotor input via trail innervation. In contrast to the highly selective innervation of bag fibres, almost half the axons supplying bag or chain fibres branched to terminate on both types of fibre. The significance of these results is discussed in relation to previous studies on fusimotor innervation and to their functional implications. The presence of autonomic innervation is a further complication that appears to have led to erroneous conclusions concerning the nature of the trail innervation of chain fibres in a recent study of the distribution of cholinesterase activity in the spindle.

Histochemical profiles of cat intrafusal muscle fibers and their motor innervation

Muscle spindles were examined histochemically in serial transverse sections of cat tenuissimus muscles. The myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) staining reaction was used to identify nuclear bag1, bag2 and nuclear chain intrafusal muscle fibers. Regional differences in ATPase staining occurred along the bag1 and bag2 fibers but not along the chain fibers. All intrafusal fiber types displayed regional variability in staining for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide tetrazolium reductase (NADH-TR). Motor nerve terminals were demonstrated along the poles of bag1, bag2 and chain fibers by staining for cholinesterase (ChE). There was no consistent spatial correlation between the intensity of regional ATPase staining along the bag fibers and location, number or type of motor endings. However, most ChE deposits occurred in intrafusal fiber regions that displayed the greatest NADH-TR variability. Some fiber poles or whole intrafusal fibers were devoid of any ChE deposits but their ATPase and NADH-TR content was comparable to that of fibers bearing ChE deposits. The observations suggested that motor nerve fibers per se may not play a major role in determining the histoenzymatic content of intrafusal fibers.

Nigral output neurons are engaged in regulation of static fusimotor action onto flexors in cat

Picrotoxin and muscimol were unilaterally injected into the postero-lateral part of the reticular zone of substantia nigra (plSNR) through chronically implanted guide cannulae in ketamine-anesthetized cats. Afferent activity of pretibial flexor muscle spindle primary and secondary endings was recorded before and after drug administration, and spindle sensitivity monitored during both sinusoidal and ramp stretch of the receptor-bearing muscle. From changes in spindle sensitivity after drug injection it is deduced that unilateral block by picrotoxin of the action of GABA on postsynaptic receptors in plSNR removes tonic static fusimotor action from flexor muscle spindle primary endings. Secondary endings seemed largely unaffected. The effect on primary endings is reversed by a subsequent injection of muscimol. It is concluded that the central nervous system, through GABA-modulated nigral output neurons, can control static fusimotor action onto flexor muscle spindle primary and secondary endings separately to some extent.

Morphological and histochemical differentiation of intrafusal fibres in the posterior latissimus dorsi muscle of the developing chick

Morphological and histochemical differentiation of neuromuscular spindles was studied in the posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD) of the chick during embryonic and post-hatching development. A rapid increase in the number of spindles takes place between the 13th and 15th of embryonic life. By the 15th day in ovo, the spindle capsule appears filled with numerous contiguous cells. Large sensory endings and small primitive motor endings are observed on intrafusal fibres. Ultrastructural observations of the nerve supply of the spindles confirm that each developing spindle receives one thick Ia axon with one to three thin gamma axons. The intracapsular space differentiates by the 17th day of embryonic development. All intrafusal fibres are morphologically of the nuclear-chain type, while two fibre types are distinguished as early as the 14th day of embryonic life, when myofibrillar ATPase activity is demonstrated after acid preincubation. These two histochemical types of intrafusal fibres are also described in the adult. The relation between these two histochemical types and different functional activity of intrafusal fibres is suggested.

Evolving views on the internal operation and functional role of the muscle spindle

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Glycogen depletion of bag1 fibers elicited by stimulation of static gamma axons in cat peroneus brevis muscle spindles

1. The distribution of static fusimotor axons to intrafusal muscle fibres in cat peroneus brevis spindles has been studied with the glycogen depletion method. 2. In each of six experiments three to seven static axons were stimulated. The muscle was subsequently quick-frozen and cut in serial transverse sections that were stained for glycogen. In each muscle, nearly all the spindles were examined for depletion. 3. Intrafusal muscle fibres displaying zones of complete glycogen depletion were observed in fifty-two whole spindles and seven half-spindles. Chain fibres were depleted in forty-eight (92%) of the whole spindles, bag2 fibres in thirty-five spindles (67%) and bag1 fibres in nineteen spindles (36%). 4. Seven other experiments were performed to test whether small amplitude sinusoidal stretching (30--100 Hz) of the muscle might produce glycogen depletion in bag1 fibres. Two hundred and seven spindles were examined. In nearly all of them the glycogen content of the intrafusal muscle fibres was normal. Two muscles had limited atrophic portions within which a few depleted spindles were found. 5. These experiments show that the intrafusal distribution of static gamma axons is not restricted to chain and bag2 fibres but that in a significant number of spindles the bag1 fibres are also supplied by static gamma axons.

Identifications of the intrafusal endings of skeletofusimotor axons in the cat

Direct identification of the endings of skeletofusimotor (beta) axons has been made in muscle spindles deprived for their gamma innervation by degeneration. Hindlimb muscles were prepared in which 1--5 fast-conducting motor axons were left intact while the rest of the motor supply was cut and allowed to degenerate for a period of 7 days. In 3 experiments a single beta axons survived supplying tenuissimus, and in 2 experiments beta axons were among 4 or 5 surviving axons that supplied superficial lumbrical and abductor digiti quinti medius muscles. Motor endings identified as p1 plates were found in teased, silver preparations of all experimental muscles, a total of 35 such plates being located in 15 spindles. The plates were all supplied to bag1 fibres. The experiments show that if a spindle innervated by a beta axon is deprived of its gamma supply by degeneration the motor endings that remain intact are p1 plates.

Motor innervation of the cat muscle spindle studied by the cholinesterase technique

Muscle spindles were traced in serial transverse sections of cat tenuissimus muscles. "Myofibrillar" adenosine triphosphatase staining reaction was used to identify nuclear bag1, nuclear bag2 and nuclear chain intrafusal muscle fibers. Typical chain fibers and long chain fibers were distinguished, the latter extending for more than 1,000 micron beyong the termination of the spindle capsule. Simple "rim" and more elaborate "plate" deposits were demonstrated histochemically along the poles of the typical chain fibers in staining for cholinesterases. They were considered to correspond, respectively, to the trail and plate motor nerve terminals. Most long chain fibers and the majority of nuclear bag fibers had their motor innervation limitd to "plate"-type endings. In addition, faint diffuse cholinesterase staining occurred along the spindle capsule and the surface of some intrafusal fibers. These histochemical observations are discussed with regard to the current concepts concerning the morphological and functional organization of the motor innervation of the cat muscle spindle.

Static and dynamic fusimotor interaction and the possibility of multiple pace-makers operating in the cat muscle spindle

The interaction of static and dynamic fusimotor activation on the firing of primary muscle spindle afferents has been studied in the cat soleus muscle at constant length and during sinusoidal stretching. Cycle histogram analysis revealed summation of static and dynamic action during the peak of the afferent response to sinusoidal stretching, while static action completely occluded the dynamic effect during the trough of the response. Occlusion was complete as long as, for single fusimotor activation, the static-induced trough response exceeded the dynamic-induced one by about 25%. The investigation of inter-spike interval distributions obtained at constant muscle length revealed occlusion of dynamic by static action in 8 out of 13 cases. A model of multiple spike generation in primary spindle afferents is considered which is based on two or more pacemakers arranged in parallel, with a common pacemaker in series.

The responses of primary spindle afferents to fusimotor stimulation at constant and abruptly changing rates

1. Single fusimotor fibres to de-efferented soleus of the cat were stimulated to investigate the size and time course of the responses elicited in single primary spindle afferents. The muscle was kept at constant length close to the physiological maximum. Constant and alternating rates of fusimotor stimulation were used: (a) repetitive stimulation at constant rate (maintained stimulation); (b) modulated stimulation with the rate of activation alternating between two constant levels at repeat frequencies between 0.09 and 2 Hz (rectangular stimulation). The responses were averaged and displayed as post-stimulus time (pst) histograms (a) or as cycle histograms (b). 2. During static fusimotor stimulation the pst histograms could be clearly modulated over a range of rates of stimulation. However, histogram modulation was not a prerequisite of static action since with different fibres the degree of modulation could range from deeply modulated to completely non-modulated to completely non-modulated. 3. Dynamic fusimotor stimulation was almost always accompanied by non-modulated pst histograms. 4. Primary spindle afferents responded to rectangular stimulation of either kind of fusimotor fibre with an approximately rectangular modulation of the rate of discharge. At the repeat frequencies studied the size of the responses was appreciably larger with static than with dynamic activation. It was assessed as 'fusimotor rate-sensitivity during alternating stimulation' by the response/stimulus ratio which is defined as change in firing/change in alternating rate of stimulation, in impulses/stimuli. The mean values of rate-sensitivity were 1.35 impulses/stimuli (statics) and 0.29 (dynamics), with a static/dynamic ratio of 4.7. 5. The afferents' 'fusimotor rate-sensitivity during steady stimulation' (change in firing/change in maintained rate of stimulation( was also determined. The mean values were 0.78 (static) and 0.37 (dynamics), with a static/dynamic ratio of 2.1. 6. The time course of the responses to rectangular stimulation was of the same order of magnitude for static and dynamic fibres. It was assessed by fitting a single exponential to the rising and falling phase of cycle histograms. The mean values of the time constants for static fibres were 58 msec (rising phase) and 59 msec (falling phase), and for dynamic fibres 34 msec (rising phase) and 49 msec (falling phase). The differences were statistically non-significant. 7. The significance of the modulation in pst histograms and the mechanisms and functional implications of the differences in rate-sensitivity are discussed. It is concluded that at constant muscle length static and dynamic fusimotor fibres differ significantly by the size rather than the speed of their action on primary spindle afferents.

Histophysiological observations on fast skeleto-fusimotor axons

In three instances, repetitive stimulation of a single fast skeleto-fusimotor axon supplying cat tenuissimus muscle was observed to activate a secondary ending belonging to a precisely located spindle. Prolonged repetitive stimulation of these beta-axons elicited glycogen depletion in the intrafusal muscle fibres of the located spindles and in extrafusal fibres. The intrafusal depletion affected the longest of the chain fibres in two instances, and the bag1 and bag2 fibres in the third instance. In one experiment, the discharge from the primary ending of the located spindle was also recorded. The fast beta-axon (it supplied the longest chain fibre in the spindle) had a static action on the primary ending. The extrafusal muscle fibres of the 3 fast beta-motor units belonged to the fast oxidative-glycolytic type.

Histological analysis of cat muscle spindles following direct observation of the effects of stimulating dynamic and static motor axons

1. Eleven cat tenuissimus spindles have been analysed mainly by cutting serial, transverse, 1 micrometer thick sections following direct observation of the effects of dynamic motor (gamma or beta) stimulation. 2. Histological results from these spindles were also used to interpret the effects of static fusimotor stimulation of other spindles. 3. Dynamic motor stimulation usually produced contractions seen as convergent movements of sarcomeres in single bag fibres, identified as bag1 fibres for reasons given in the text. 4. In one spindle a single dynamic axon produced a translational movement in one pole of a bag1 fibre and a convergent movement in each pole of a bag2 fibre, together with movements in other unidentified (presumably chain) fibres. Subsequent analysis showed that besides innervating both bag fibres the axon also supplied two chain fibres. 5. Contrary to expectation, motor endings on the bag1 fibres seldom occurred at the sites of convergent movement. Only two cases of coincidence occurred among sixteen foci and twenty-one motor endings; otherwise focus and nearest ending were separated by distances of 0.85--2.5 mm. 6. Most of the convergent movements of sarcomeres observed in bag1 fibres occurred in a region of the pole that is ultrastructurally distinct from the region where most of the motor endings were located. The possible relevance of this to the production of contractions in the bag1 fibre is discussed. 7. Convergent movement foci in bag2 fibres produced by the stimulation of static axons occurred largely within the same regions of the pole as the motor endings were located, though, whereas foci were observed in both intra- and extracapsular regions, most of the endings were intracapsular.

"Fast" and "slow" skeleto-fusimotor innervation in cat tenuissimus spindles; a study with the glycogen-depletion method

The glycogen-depletion method was used to investigate the motor supply to tenuissimus with respect to the presence of fast beta axons and to assess the total proportion of both fast and slow beta-innervated spindles in this muscle. In a first series of 5 expts., groups of motor axons with conduction velocities higher than 85 m/s were repetitively stimulated so as to produce glycogen depletion in the muscle fibres they innervated. The whole muscle was then quick-frozen, serially cut, stained to demonstrate glycogen and examined for intrafusal glycogen depletion. Zones of glycogen depletion were found in 16 of the 46 examined spindles; they were most frequently located in the longest of the chain intrafusal muscle fibres. Since it is known that there are no purely fusimotor axons to tenuissimus with conduction velocities above 50 m/s, it was concluded that beta axons are present among the fastest axons to this muscle. In a second series of 5 expts. as many motor axons as possible with conduction velocities above 60 m/s were stimulated. Zones of glycogen depletion were found in 19 of the 47 examined spindles. They affected chain fibres in about half of the instances and bag1 fibers in the others. As this latter location is characteristic of slow dynamic beta axons, it was concluded that both slow and fast beta axons occur regularly in the motor supply to tenuissimus. beta-innervation is present in at least 40% of tenuissimus spindles with almost no convergence of fast and slow beta axons onto the same spindle.

Identification of intrafusal muscle fibres activated by single fusimotor axons and injected with fluorescent dye in cat tenuissimus spindles

1. Intrafusal muscle fibres of cat tenuissimus spindles have been injected with the fluorescent dye Procion Yellow and identified histologically after recording their changes in membrane potential during 1/sec stimulation of single static or dynamic gamma axons. 2. Thirteen intrafusal muscle fibres innervated by static gamma axons were identified as eight bag2 and five chain fibres. The fact that none proved to be a bag1 fibre is not regarded as significant, for reasons given in the Discussion. 3. In one spindle Procion Yellow was injected into two intrafusal muscle fibres activated by the same static gamma axon; they were identified as a bag2 and a chain fibre. 4. Nine intrafusal muscle fibres innervated by dynamic gamma axons were identified as seven bag1 fibres, one bag2 fibre, and one long chain fibre. 5. In one spindle two bag fibres were injected, one activated by a dynamic gamma axon, the other by a static gamma axon; the former proved to be a bag1 fibre, the latter a bag2 fibre. 6. Stimulation of static gamma axons elicited junctional potentials in seven bag2 fibres and one damaged chain fibre, and action potentials in one bag2 and four chain fibres. In the whole sample of impaled intrafusal muscle fibres (identified and unidentified) activated by static axons, junctional potentials were recorded from twenty-three (62.2%), and action potentials from fourteen (37.8%). Stimulation of dynamic gamma axons always elicited junctional potentials. 7. In a number of instances it was possible to examine the ultrastructure of motor endings belonging to the stimulated gamma axon. The myoneural junctions of trail endings supplied by static gamma axons to bag2 and chain fibres were both smooth and folded; the deepest and most regular folding occurred on chain fibres. The terminals of p2 plates supplied to bag1 fibres by dynamic gamma axons had smooth myoneural junctions.

On the subdivision of static and dynamic fusimotor actions on the primary ending of the cat muscle spindle

1. Using large ramp and triangular stretches a survey has been made of the effect of stimulating single gamma fusimotor fibres on primary endings of muscle spindles in the peroneus brevis to see whether 'intermediate' types of fusimotor action could be recognized, falling between the well known static and dynamic types. 2. Responses were classified into six groups, as detailed on pp. 844-846, ranging from apparently 'pure' dynamic action (category I) to apparently 'pure' static action (category IV). Models for a putative mixed action were produced by combining the stimulation of a static and of a dynamic fibre to the same spindle. The clearest sign of static action was firing on the releasing phase of the stretch. The essential sign of dynamic action, which survived combination with the more dominant static action, was the low adaptive decay of firing with a time constant of about 0-5 sec that occurs on the plateau of the ramp stretch. 3. Out of 153 responses, each elicited from a primary ending on stimulation of a single fusimotor fibre, 67% were apparently 'pure' examples of dynamic and static action. The remaining 33% of responses were to some degree suggestive of an admixture, in various proportions, of static and dynamic actions. For only 18% of them was there firm indication of such admixture. 4. When a given fibre was tested on more than one ending then, with one exception out of thirty-six instances, its action always proved to be either predominantly static or predominantly dynamic. There was no special tendency for an axon with a mixed action on one spindle to have a similarly mixed action on other endings so that individual fusimotor fibres were best classified as static or dynamic without intermediate grades. 5. Simultaneous stimulation of two fusimotor fibres eliciting apparently 'pure static and dynamic actions, could mimic all the intermediate types of action. 6. The results are discussed in relation to recent studies, especially those based on glycogen depletion. It was concluded that dynamic action arises from activation of the bag1 intrafusal muscle fibre, and that static action arises from the bag2 and chain fibres, whether acting individually or collaboratively. The intermediate actions are suggested to arise from an overlap of motor innervation to contrasting types of intrafusal muscle fibre. 7. On the basis of effects on the regularity of the afferent discharge the findings support the view that a given static action axon can innervate bag2 and chain fibres in various proportions in different spindles, so that they do not provide separable effector pathways. 8. Responses to large amplitude sinusoidal stretching were also studied in relation to our classification.

Effects of combining static and dynamic fusimotor stimulation on the response of the muscle spindle primary ending to sinusoidal stretching

1. A pair of fusimotor fibres, one static and the other dynamic, were stimulated simultaneously to test their combined action on the response of muscle spindle primary endings in the cat soleus to sinusoidal stretching. A frequency of 1 Hz was chiefly used, with a wide range of amplitudes (10 micronm-2 mm). The response of the ending was assessed from the parameters of the sine fitted to its firing averaged throughout the course of the cycle; this was felt useful even though the responses to the larger stretches showed certain non-linear features. 2. With small stretches (up to about 50 micronm amplitude) static action dominated, and the modulation of firing during conbined stimulation was little or no larger than that found during the static stimulation on its own, and much smaller than that found during the static stimulation on its own, and much smaller than that found during the dynamic stimulation. The phase of the response was, however, much the same for all three conditions. 3. With larger stretches the modulation with combined stimulation was intermediate between the values found on stimulating either fusimotor fibre on its own; the dynamic contribution increased progressively with the amplitude of stretching. 4. With larger stretches the phase of the response during combined stimulation was appreciably closer to that for static action than to that for dynamic action. But the differences between the various conditions were small (below 20 degrees) and seem attributable to various distortions of the response wave from away from a true sinusoid, rather than betokening a difference in the ratio of velocity to length sensitivity under the various conditions. This view was supported by the effects on phase of grading the rate of stimulation of one fusimotor fibre while holding that of the other constant. 5. Detailed comparison of the cycle histograms obtained under different conditions showed an interestingly asymmetrical pattern of summation and occlusion of the effects of the two kinds of fusimotor fibre. At the peak of the response to a large stretch static action summed with dynamic action, which was here the stronger, so that at this phase of the cycle the firing was greater with the combined stimulation than with either fibre on its own. But, in the trough of the response to the same stretch static action occluded any dynamic action, which was now the weaker, so that at this phase of the cycle the firing with combined stimulation was virtually the same as that with static stimulation on its own. With a small stretch, static action normally occluded dynamic action throughout the cycle; this is in line with the firing during static action now usually being greater than that during dynamic action for all phases of the cycle.