We have previously shown that static muscle contraction induces the expression of c-Fos protein in neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and that some of these cells were codistributed with neuronal NADPH-diaphorase [nitric oxide (NO) synthase]-positive fibers. In the present study, we sought to determine the role of NO in the NTS in mediating the cardiovascular responses elicited by s...

Previous studies in isolated muscle preparations have shown that muscle blood flow becomes compromised at higher contraction frequencies. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of increases in contraction frequency and muscle tension on mean blood flow (MBF) during voluntary exercise in humans. Nine male subjects [23.6 +/- 3.7 (SD) yr] performed incremental knee extension exercise ...

Ciliary muscle is a smooth muscle characterized by a rapid response to muscarinic receptor stimulation and sustained contraction. Although it is evident that these contractions are Ca2+-dependent, detailed molecular mechanisms are still unknown. In order to elucidate the role of Ser/Thr protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in ciliary muscle contraction, we examined the effects of okadaic acid and othe...

Wojtaszewski, Jørgen F. P., Jan Lynge,Allan B. Jakobsen, Laurie J. Goodyear, and Erik A. Richter. Differential regulation of MAP kinase by contraction and insulin in skeletal muscle: metabolic implications. Am. J. Physiol. 277 (Endocrinol. Metab. 40): E724–E732, 1999.—We have investigated the activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1 and ERK2) by muscle contraction and insu...

BACKGROUND Current devices for measuring muscle contraction in vivo have limited accuracy in establishing and re-establishing the optimum muscle length. They are variable in the reproducibility to determine the muscle contraction at this length, and often do not maintain precise conditions during the examination. Consequently, for clinical testing only semi-quantitative methods have been used. ...

Introduction: Ethanol is a suitable solvent for many in vivo and ex studies. However, it can interfere with normal muscle contraction make variations the results. Contrary to present study, previous investigations revealed suppressant effect of ethanol on contraction. Methods: This study was based an isolated chick biventer cervicis nerve-muscle using twitch tension recording technique. Nerve c...

abstract background: rehabilitation of facial paralysis is one of the greatest challenges faced by reconstructive surgeons today. the traditional method for treatment of patients with facial palsy is the two-stage free gracilis flap which has a long latency period of between the two stages of surgery. methods: in this paper, we prospectively compared the results of the one-stage gracilis flap m...

Muscle fatigue is considered as one of the major risk factor causing Musculo-Skeletal Disorder (MSD). To avoid MSD the study of muscle fatigue is very important. For the study of muscle fatigue a new model is developed by modifying the Ruina Ma’s dynamic muscle fatigue model and introducing the muscle co-contraction factor ‘n’ in this model.The aim of this paper is to experimentally validate a ...

In order to clarify the abnormality in cortical motor preparation for voluntary muscle relaxation of the hand in patients with focal hand dystonia, Bereitschaftspotentials (BPs) preceding voluntary muscle contraction and relaxation were recorded in eight patients (three with simple writer's cramp and five with dystonic writer's cramp), and were compared with those from 10 normal subjects. Volun...

The arterial system of the marine mollusc Aplysia consists of three major arteries. One of them, the abdominal aorta, has a sphincter (the vasoconstrictor muscle) at the base of the artery. Contraction of this muscle reduces the blood flow into the abdominal aorta, thereby, playing a role in the regulation of the blood distribution in Aplysia. Here, we show the contractility of the vasoconstric...