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Muscle Contraction
o Contraction: muscle fiber shortens; sliding filament model (thin slide over thick)
o Steps of Contraction:
3. ADP and Phosphate are release and myosin head bends, pulling actin inwards
towards middle of sarcomere (power-stroke)
4. Head remains bound (rigor mortis) until a new ATP binds, weakening and
eventually breaking the cross bridge (myosin head detaches)
Cause of rigor mortis: when dead you no longer produce ATP and the
myosin cannot dissociate from actin without ATP
5. ATP is hydrolyzed to ADP + Phosphate and the myosin head returns to active
conformation once again
o Cross Bridges:
- single cross bridge creates v. little movement
- all cross bridges in once cycle only shortens 1% percent of resting length; cycle
must be repeated many times (muscles can contract to 60% muscle length)
- only portion of cross bridges form at a given time; they are asynchronous
- when load is heavier you need more cross bridges
Relaxation:
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o Optimal Resting Length:
- allows maximal cross bridge formation (stronger force); better interaction
between actin and myosin
- muscle produces greatest force
- CNS monitors and adjusts resting length (maintains muscle tone)
- if muscles stretched further than optimal length the force of contraction
decreases; when muscle not stretched out enough it had less cross bridge
because actin filament are overlapping and less active sites; if muscle is
overstretched the myosin and actin no longer overlap and cross bridges cannot
form (ex. lifting something when bent over)
* skeletal muscles are kept at their optimal length (muscle tone); optimal length
most important in cardiac muscle
o Threshold:
- muscle will not fire if stimulus is too weak; threshold is the minimal voltage for
action potential to generate and contraction to occur; single threshold stimulus
results in a muscle twitch (quick cycle of contraction and relaxation); all or none
principle all of none for single muscle fiber not for entire muscle in general
Latent Period:
- delay between stimulus and onset of twitch (contraction); time
required for excitation contraction coupling to occur; stimulating muscle
directly also has a latent period although shorter
1. Multiple Motor Unit Summation: recruit more units and muscle fibers to
generate more force
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2. Temporal Summation: increased stimulus frequency results in stronger
contraction; repetitive stimulation; increase calcium level in cell,
increasing cross bridges formed and increases force of contraction
Treppe:
Incomplete Tetanus: one wave of contraction adds to the next
o Isometric: no muscle shortening; change in tension but not length (ex. holding a
weight but not moving it; muscle develops tension) ex. planking
o Isotonic: change in length of muscle but not tension (ex. moving a weight causes
muscle to shorten, but tension stays constant)
Muscle Metabolism:
o ATP Relies on: available oxygen and organic energy sources such as glucose and
fatty acids
Anaerobic Fermentation:
Aerobic Respiration:
3
1. Immediate Energy
- short intense energy (1 min brisk walk or 6 sec sprint)
- ATP because lungs and heart cant deliver oxygen quickly enough
- Myokinase transfers phosphate from one ADP molecule to another to form ATP
- Creatine Kinase obtains/donates phosphate from creatine phosphate to ADP
- ADP + Creatine Phosphate = ATP + Creatine
2. Short-Term Energy
- muscles switch to anaerobic respiration (no O2) until cardiopulmonary system
can catch up with demand.
- Converts glucose into lactic acid (muscle fatigue)
- produces enough ATP for 30 sec on max activity
3. Long-Term Energy
- cardiopulmonary system takes over after 40 seconds
- O2 delivery to muscles is fast enough to meet demands
- >90% of ATP produced aerobically in exercising lasting longer than 10 min
Cardiac Muscle:
o Location: heart
o Description:
- involuntary, striated, branched, centrally located nuclei
- contains intercalated discs that allow electrical continuity (allow cells to
communicate with each other (contains gap junctions within intercalated discs)
- contract automatically (w/out NS stimulation); NS modulates can continue to
contract outside body f in a dish and nourished with saline fluid
Smooth Muscle:
o Function: contracts muscles evenly; even when stretched (ex. bladder and
uterus); striated muscle eventually loses ability to contract properly when
overstretched. (ex. bladder still needs to be able to contract even when
maximally distended) smooth muscle is not striated
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o Excitation Contraction Coupling:
- Calcium is a trigger: calcium is sustained for contraction from the ECF via
voltage gated calcium channels; graded by depolarization because some calcium
comes from outside of the SR, it does not to be as well developed
- Myosin light chain kinase: phosphorylates myosin light chains so that myosin
can bind to actin and make contraction occur; more calcium = more MLCK
activity = graded depolarization.
- Contraction can occur with small amount of calcium entry only (does not
require action potentials); contractions are slow and sustained (energy
efficient)
Multi-Unit:
- few if any gap junctions
- ex. arrector pili and lens ciliary muscles, bronchioles
Single-Unit:
- numerous gap junctions; functional syncytium
- ex. digestive tract and uterus
- ANS modulates only
- myogenic activity: contract in response to stretch