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ECE795 Lecture5

The document provides an overview of muscle biomechanics, detailing the organization and contraction mechanisms of skeletal muscle fibers, including the roles of actin and myosin. It discusses the structure and function of the neuromuscular junction, the sliding filament theory, and the different types of muscle fibers. Additionally, it covers methods for measuring muscle forces and estimating motor unit numbers, highlighting the complexities involved in electromyography and muscle force analysis.

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11 views35 pages

ECE795 Lecture5

The document provides an overview of muscle biomechanics, detailing the organization and contraction mechanisms of skeletal muscle fibers, including the roles of actin and myosin. It discusses the structure and function of the neuromuscular junction, the sliding filament theory, and the different types of muscle fibers. Additionally, it covers methods for measuring muscle forces and estimating motor unit numbers, highlighting the complexities involved in electromyography and muscle force analysis.

Uploaded by

DOOAMADAA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ELEC ENG 795:

Quantitative Electrophysiology

Notes for Lecture #5


Wednesday, October 11, 2006
3.2 Muscle biomechanics
Organization:
– skeletal muscle is
made up of muscle
fibers
– each fiber is a single
cell
– the contraction of a
fiber is achieved by
the motor proteins
actin & myosin

(from Guyton
and Hall, 10th
Edition)
Fiber orientation:
– muscles that undergo
large length changes or
high velocities usually
have long fibers running
lengthwise e.g. biceps
brachii

– muscles that undergo only small length


changes but are required to produce large
forces or stiffness have fibers arranged at an
angle to the tendons to which they are
attached e.g. flexor carpi radialis
Muscle fiber innervation:

1. Motor neuron Motor unit:


2. Peripheral nerve A motor unit is defined as
an individual motor neuron
3. Neuromuscular junction plus all the muscle fibers
that are innervated by that
4. Muscle neuron.
Neuromuscular junction:
Structure of the neuromuscular junction
(cont.):
The nerve
terminal contacts
the muscle fiber
at an end plate.
The pre- and
post-synaptic
membranes form
a specialized
“gutter”.
Structure of the neuromuscular junction
(cont.):
The pre- and post-synaptic membrane
formations are similar to nerve-to-nerve
chemical synapses, except for the synaptic
gutter.
Steps in muscle fiber contraction
1. Motor neuron action potential
2. Action potential propagation along motor axon
(myelinated fiber)
3. Transmission of acetylcholine (ACh) at
neuromuscular junctions (synapses)
4. Action potential generation in muscle fiber
5. Release of Ca2+ from sarcoplasmic reticulum
initiates attractive forces between actin &
myosin filaments, causing them to slide
alongside each other ) muscle contraction
6. Return of Ca2+ to sarcoplasmic reticulum,
ending muscle contraction
Muscle structure
(cont.):
Each fibril is surrounded
by:
¾ a sarcoplasmic
reticulum (SR), which
stores Ca2+ for
triggering muscle fiber
contraction, and
¾ the transverse tubules
system (TTS), which
ensures that action
potentials propagate
deep into the fiber.
Actin & myosin filament movement:

(from Guyton
and Hall, 10th
Edition)
Myofibril
• Muscle fibres 10 – 80 µm
• Each fibre has several hundred to several
thousand myofibrils
• Each myofibril has 1500 myosin filaments
and 3000 actin filaments
• Z-band (attachment of actin filaments)
across the myofibril and between
myofibrils
Sliding filament theory:
The sliding filament theory suggests that
contraction is generated by movement of the
myosin filaments against the actin filaments.
Sliding filament theory (cont.):
Sliding filament theory (cont.):
The sliding filament theory is consistent with the
tension versus length relationship of muscle
undergoing isometric contraction.
Fiber types
1. Fast twitch
– large fibers, for greater contraction strength
– extensive sarcoplasmic reticulum for rapid
release of Ca2+
– large amounts of glycolytic enzymes
– less extensive blood supply
– fewer mitochondria
Force versus velocity:

where F is the contractile


force (N), v is the contractile
velocity (lengths¢s-1), and F0,
a & b are constants.
F0 corresponds to the force
when v = 0, i.e., during an
isometric contraction.
vmax = bF0/a, when F = 0.
Force versus velocity (cont.):
Often the stress value (P0 = F0/A) is used
instead of F0, where A is the “physiological
cross sectional area” obtained by dividing
the muscle volume by its length.
P0 is generally between 100 and 300 kPa,
and does not depend on the metabolic fiber
type (fast or slow twitch).
However, vmax depends on the fiber type.
Force versus
fiber length:
Force versus fiber length (cont.):

(from Guyton
and Hall, 10th
Edition)
Muscle contraction:
A muscle fiber responds to a single neural input
with a contractile twitch. A fast train of stimuli will
twitches that sum together; above the fusion
frequency, the fiber will be locked in a state
referred to as tetanus.
Force versus activation (cont.):
The total muscle force is modulated by:
– the frequency of twitches in each of a
muscle’s motor units ) rate coding
and
– the number of motor units being activated
) recruitment
Hill’s model:
Electromyogram (EMG):
Dynamic Isometric
Measuring muscle forces
– strain-gauge tendon transducers
problem: invasive
– derivation from kinematics and external forces
problem: often the system of equations is
indeterminate, e.g., several flexion and/or
extension moments but only one moment
equilibrium equation
– electromyography (EMG):
problem: EMG is usually the sum of several
motor unit action potentials ) difficult to
interpret
Modeling the Electromyographic
Signal
Extracting Motor Unit Action
Potentials
Motor Unit Number Estimation
• Estimate the number of alpha motor
neurons
• Determine anatomy of normal nerves and
muscles
• Determine presence and extent of
neuronal disease (diagnostic)
• Monitor disease progression or response
to therapy (drug trials, etc)
Peripheral Nerve
Patient Instrumentation
Motor Unit Electrical and
Mechanical Responses
MUNE Calculation
Automated MUNE
Distribution of Motor Unit
Potentials
Reliability of Estimates
Results in ALS

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