SKELETAL MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY

Physico-chemical Aspects Of Muscle Contraction Part 2

Dr. Hemalatha A
Associate Professor in Zoology
Maharani’s Science College for Women
Palace Road, Bengaluru
 MUSCLE MOVEMENT

 Muscle contraction – movement – basic property-life.

 Locomotion, Postural support, Maintain body shape, Digestion,
circulation, reproduction, excretion
 Excitability, Conductivity, Contractility, Extensibility, Elasticity.
 Actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling: Contraction generates tension -
muscle - LENGTHEN, SHORTEN, OR REMAIN THE SAME.
 Shortening/generation of tension within a muscle fiber.
 Muscle contractions -changes in the length of the muscle.
 The force generated by the contraction
of the muscle/shortening of the
sarcomeres is called muscle tension-
required for action.
 Also generated when the muscle is
contracting against a load that does not
move.
 Two main types of skeletal muscle
contractions: isotonic contractions and
isometric contractions.
 TYPES OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION

ISOMETRIC
 Muscle exerts force-no change in length
 Pulling against immovable object
 Postural muscles
ISOTONIC-tension-constant, length changes
1. Concentric - Muscle shortens during force production
2. Eccentric - Muscle produces force, length increases
 ISOTONIC CONTRACTIONS- maintain constant tension, muscle changes
length, can be either concentric or eccentric.
 CONCENTRIC CONTRACTIONS - muscles shorten- generating force,
overcoming resistance: lift heavy weight, contraction of the biceps arm
bends at the elbow, lifting the weight towards the shoulder.
 ECCENTRIC CONTRACTIONS - elongation of a muscle- generates force;
resistance is greater than force generated. Voluntary eccentric contraction -
controlled lowering of the heavy weight raised. An involuntary eccentric
contraction-weight is too great for a muscle to bear- slowly lowered while
under tension .
ISOMETRIC CONTRACTIONS - generate force: for grip, maintain posture.
YIELDING: contraction-opposed-resistance. when holding a heavy weight
steady, neither raising nor lowering it.
OVERCOMING: contraction-opposed-immovable object, pushing against
a wall. IN BOTH INSTANCES, MUSCLES ARE NOT CHANGING LENGTH.
CONTROL OF MUSCLE TENSION

Actin-myosin- cross-bridges-sarcomere shortening-muscle contraction.

Pull exerted by a muscle-tension, amount of force created by tension -vary.

Muscles-move very light objects/heavy objects.

Muscle fiber: amount of tension produced=cross-sectional area muscle fiber+

frequency of neural stimulation.

Number of cross-bridges = amount of tension .
Picking up a light weight, the motor cortex of the brain - few neurons
activated, a few myofibers respond.
Picking a heavy object, the motor cortex signals all of the neurons and
every myofiber participates, maximum force produced.
In vertebrates, each myofiber responds fully if stimulated.
FORCE GENERATTION IN MUSCLE
MUSCLE RESPONSE
All – or – none response
Muscle fiber contracts -complete.
Threshold stimulus-minimal stimulus-elicit-muscular contraction .
Twitch : single , short contraction -stimulation of some motor units
Latent period-time between stimulus and muscle contraction .
Refractory period : immediately after contraction - muscle can not respond
THE FREQUENCY OF MOTOR NEURON STIMULATION
A single action potential from a motor neuron will produce a single contraction
TWITCH. Few milliseconds or 100 milliseconds-muscle type.
Each twitch undergoes three phases.
Latent period- action potential -propagated -sarcolemma and Ca++ ions are
released from the SR. -excitation and contraction are being coupled, no
contraction.
Contraction phase- Ca++ ions in the sarcoplasm have bound to troponin,
tropomyosin has shifted away from actin-binding sites, cross-bridges formed,
and sarcomeres are actively shortening to the point of peak tension.
Relaxation phase - when tension decreases as contraction stops. Ca++ ions are
pumped out of the sarcoplasm into the SR, and cross-bridge cycling stops,
returning the muscle fibers to their resting state.
A Myogram of a Muscle Twitch. A single muscle twitch has a latent period, a
contraction phase when tension increases, and a relaxation phase when
tension decreases.
Frequency of action potentials from a motor neuron + number of motor neurons =
MUSCLE TENSION.
RATE - motor neuron fires action potentials - affects the tension produced .
If the fibers are stimulated while a previous twitch is still occurring, the second twitch
will be stronger - WAVE SUMMATION, because the excitation-contraction coupling
effects of successive motor neuron signaling is summed, or added together
Summation - second stimulus triggers the release of more Ca++ ions - activate
additional sarcomeres while the muscle is still contracting from the first stimulus.
Summation results in greater contraction of the motor unit.
If the frequency of motor neuron signaling increases, summation and
subsequent muscle tension in the motor unit continues to rise until it reaches a
peak point. The tension at this point is about three - four times greater than
the tension of a single twitch - incomplete tetanus - muscle goes through quick
cycles of contraction with a short relaxation phase for each. If the stimulus
frequency is so high that the relaxation phase disappears completely,
contractions - continuous - complete tetanus. Concentration of Ca++ ions in
the sarcoplasm allows virtually all of the sarcomeres to form cross-bridges and
shorten, so that a contraction can continue uninterrupted (until the muscle
fatigues and can no longer produce tension).
Wave Summation and Tetanus. (a) The excitation-contraction coupling effects of successive motor neuron signaling is added
together which is referred to as wave summation. The bottom of each wave, the end of the relaxation phase, represents the
point of stimulus. (b) When the stimulus frequency is so high that the relaxation phase disappears completely, the contractions
become continuous; this is called tetanus.
TREPPE
Muscle tension increases in a graded manner -a set of stairs -treppe.
The bottom of each wave represents the point of stimulus.
When a skeletal muscle has been dormant for an extended period and
then activated to contract, with all other things being equal, the initial
contractions generate about one-half the force of later contractions -
muscle contractions become more efficient - the “staircase effect”
When muscle tension increases in a graded manner that looks like a set of stairs, it is called treppe. The bottom of each
wave represents the point of stimulus.
MUSCLE TONE
Skeletal muscles are rarely completely relaxed, or flaccid. Even if a muscle is not
producing movement, it is contracted a small amount to maintain its contractile
proteins and produce muscle tone. The tension produced by muscle tone
allows muscles to continually stabilize joints and maintain posture.
Muscle tone is accomplished by a complex interaction between the nervous
system and skeletal muscles that results in the activation of a few motor units
at a time, most likely in a cyclical manner. In this manner, muscles never fatigue
completely, as some motor units can recover while others are active.
MUSCLE TWITCH

 Muscle twitching - uncontrollable twitching of a muscle group.

 contract involuntarily.

 Common muscles that twitch are face, forearms, upper arms and legs.

 Served by a single motor nerve fiber - Single action potential –

contraction brief + relaxation

 Strength of the twitch depends on the number of motor neurons

activated.
 FAST AND SLOW MUSCLES
 white or fast skeletal muscle fibers , have few mitochondria ,
 reduced ability to carry on aerobic respiration and tend to fatigue
rapidly . (ex. extra ocular muscles) . Designed for speed , fatigue easily.
 Red/slow skeletal muscle fibers -many mitochondria - designed for
enduration , contract for long periods of time (ex. Solues) .
MUSCLE FATIGUE
 A fatigued muscle loses its ability to contract .
 Muscle fatigue =accumulation of lactic acid and ATP exhaustion.
OXYGEN DEBT:
During rest or moderate exercise , O2 is sufficient to support aerobic
respiration (using many ATP molecules) .
During strenuous exercise , O2 deficiency may develop and lactic acid
may accumulate as a result of anaerobic respiration .
The amount of O2 needed to convert accumulated lactic acid to glucose
and restore supplies of ATP and creatine phosphate is called oxygen debt .