Lab 10 - Muscle Physiology Flashcards
What was used to examine grip force
Hand dynamometer
What does skeleton provide
Support and articulation for body
What do bones act as
Support structures
What do joints function as
Pivot points
How to two or more muscles work
Antagonistically
What is skeletal muscle composed of
Long, multinucleate cells called fibers grouped into fascicles
What is motor unit
A single motor neuron, and all the muscle fibers that it innervates
What does an action potential in motor neuron induce and how
Action potential in the muscle fibers it innervates by releasing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine into the neuromuscular junction. This muscle action potential causes a brief increase in the intracellular concentration of calcium ions [Ca2+], and activates the contractile molecular machinery inside the fiber. This requires the use of intracellular supplies of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as the energy source.
Summary if action potential in pre synaptic neuron to sliding of actin and myosin - excitation - contraction coupling
- Release of neurotransmitter at the motor end plate
- Binding of transmitter to postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors
- Opening of sodium channels
- Generation of end plate potential on surface of sarcolemma
- Surface propagation of action potential
- Passage of action potential down t-tubule system
- Depolarisation of sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Release of calcium from sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Calcium binding to troponin
- Conformational change in troponin ‘tugging’ tropomyosin from actin
- Uncovering of active sites on actin
- Myosin heads forming ‘cross bridges’ attaching to the actin
- Myosin heads ‘tilting’ pulling actin towards centre of sarcomere
- Cross bridges detach and reattach to the next active site
- Making and breaking of cross bridges repeats until muscle has shortened the required amount. This is known as the ratchet theory of muscle contraction.
- At the end of contraction calsequesterin pumps calcium back into the
sarcoplasmic reticulum.
What is a twitch
Brief contraction - result of sliding of actin and myosin
What is a whole muscle controlled by
Firing of up to hundreds of motor axons
What is spatial summation
Adjusting the number of active motor units , thus controlling the number of twitching muscle fibers - n.s controls muscle
What is spatial summation also known as
Motor unit recruitment
What is a motor unit
A single motor neuron and all the muscle fibres it innervates
What happens with muscles with fine degree of control
Muscles with a fine degree of motor control will have motor units composed of a small number of muscle fibres. Postural muscle, however, which require little fine control, will have motor units comprising many muscle fibres.
What is another way to control muscle contraction by n.s
Vary the frequency of action potentials in the motor axons
What happens at stimulation intervals greater than 200ms
Intracellular [Ca2+] is restored to baseline levels between action potentials and the contraction consists of separate twitches.
What happens at stimulation intervals between 200 ms (5Hz) and 75 ms (13.3Hz),
[Ca2+] in the muscle is still above baseline levels when the next action potential arrives
What is temporal summation
The muscle fibre has not completely relaxed and the next contraction is stronger than normal.