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Volume 17, Number 5, Issue of March 1, 1997 pp. 1734-1747
Copyright ©1997 Society for Neuroscience

Tension Distribution of Single Motor Units in Multitendoned Muscles: Comparison of a Homologous Digit Muscle in Cats and Monkeys

Received July 10, 1996; revised Dec. 5, 1996; accepted Dec. 9, 1996.

Marc H. Schieber¹, Michael Chua², Julien Petit³, and Carlton C. Hunt⁴

¹ Departments of Neurology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, and Brain and Cognitive Science, Center for Visual Science, and the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program at St. Mary's Hospital, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 14642; ² Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110; ³ Laboratoire de Physiologie de l'Action et de la Perception, College de France 75231, Paris Cedex 05, France; and ⁴ Department of Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514

To determine whether single motor units (MUs) in multitendoned muscles distribute tension to multiple tendons or instead focus tension selectively on a single tendon, we examined the distribution of tension generated by single MUs in the cat extensor digitorum lateralis (EDLat), and in its macaque homolog, the extensor digiti quarti et quinti (ED45). General properties of MUs (maximal tetanic tension, axonal conduction velocity, and twitch rise time) were similar in these muscles to those reported for other limb muscles in cats and monkeys. Most cat EDLat MUs were found to exert tension rather selectively on one of the three tendons of the muscle. Fast fatigable MUs were slightly but significantly more selective than fast fatigue-resistant and slow MUs. In contrast, and contrary to expectation, the macaque ED45 contained a lower proportion of MUs that exerted tension selectively on one of the two tendons of the muscle, and a higher proportion of relatively nonselective MUs. These findings suggest that the cat EDLat may consist of three functional subdivisions, each acting preferentially on a different tendon, whereas the macaque ED45 is more likely to function as a single multitendoned muscle.

Key words: compartment; distribution; force; functional; macaque; motor unit; multitendoned; muscle; neuromuscular; subdivision; tension

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