Lab 3 - Skeletal muscle contraction Flashcards
Describe how an action potential initiated at the NMJ can cause an increase in incracellular calcium. How is the intracellular calcium concentration returned to normal?
When the action potential invades the presynaptic terminal it depolarises it, there are voltage gated sodium channels on the axon that are responsible for the propagation of the action potential and the depolarisation of the action potential spreads into the nerve terminal and opens voltage gated calcium channels that are located throughout the terminal and many are at the same location as the vesicles to allow for tight coupling
Tropomyosin
Tropomyosin covers myosin binding sites on actin
Troponin
troponin binds calcium
calcium binding sites blocked, calcium binds to troponin complex which then moves tropomyosin out of the way, exposing myosin binding sites
Tetanus
When the frequency of muscle contraction is such that the macimal force is generated without any relaxation of the muscle
Twitch
The period of contraction and relaxation of a muscle after a single stimulation
The force transducer …
produces a voltage output in proportion to the force applied to it
EDL (extensor digitorum longus)
fast twitch fibres
Soleus
slow twitch fibres
In this experiment of EDL and soleus what is recorded
In this experiment the two channels are recorded. One shows the stimuli delivered, and the othe rshows the muscle response. These two channels are useful to show the time delay of the muscle response after the stimulus
Minimum contraction tension
Find the stimulus voltage when the contraction first occurs, and measure the tension developed
Maximum contraction tension
Find the stimulus voltage where the contraction is at its maximum, and measure the tension developed
Describe how the twitch amplitude changed when you increased the stimulus voltage.
Twitch amplitude increases with increasing stimulus voltage until maximum is reached where increase in the stimulus voltage will not increase the twitch amplitude anymore
Why did the twitch amplitude change when you increased the stimulus voltage? (and Q3 part 1 what is the mechanism for the increase).
Recruited more muscle fibers with increasing voltage
• Larger fibres recruited first (due to lower resistance with artificial stimulus)
In this experimental set up, explain the process for the observed twitch amplitude change. How would this be different in the body?
Recruit more motor units
(motor unit: alpha motor neuron + all fibres it innervates)
• Smaller motor units recruited first
Time to peak
from start of the response until maximum tension occurs
Latency
from the onset of the stimulus to the start of the response (time delay)
Fusion frequency
is the frequency where individual twitches can no longer be seen in response to stimuli (referred to as tetanus or a tetanic contraction). Individual twitches become fused at this particular frequency
at fusion frequency the response will be a jagged line and not a smooth one like textbooks
EDL has a _____ time to peak than soleus
faster