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Extra Force From Asynchronous Stimulation of Cat Soleus Muscle Results From Minimizing the Stretch of the Common Elastic Elements

Department of Physiology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois

Submitted 12 December 2005; accepted in final form 31 May 2006

Rack and Westbury showed that low-frequency asynchronous stimulation of a muscle produces greater force compared with synchronous stimulation. This study tested the hypothesis that the difference results from the dynamic stretch of the common elastic elements. In eight anesthetized cats, the soleus was attached to a servomechanism to control muscle length and record force. The ventral roots were divided into four bundles so each innervated approximately 1/4 of the soleus. The elasticity shared by each part of the muscle was estimated and the servomechanism programmed to compensate for its stretch. At each test frequency (5, 7.5, and 10 Hz), the muscle was stimulated by asynchronous stimulation, synchronous stimulation, summation of force with each part stimulated individually, and summation with each part stimulated individually and the servomechanism mimicking tendon stretch during asynchronous stimulation. Muscle length was isometric except for the last protocol. The observed differences were small. The greatest difference occurred during stimulation at 5 Hz with muscle length on the ascending limb of the length-tension curve. Here, the average forces, normalized by asynchronous force, were asynchronous, 100%; synchronous, 73%; summation, 110%; and summation with stretch compensation, 98%. The results support the hypothesis and suggest that the common elasticity can be used to predict force gains from asynchronous stimulation.