We extend a recently proposed model [Chaudhuri et al., Europhys. Lett. 87, 20003 (2009)] aiming to describe the formation of fascicles of axons during neural development. The growing axons are represented as paths of interacting directed random walkers in two spatial dimensions. To mimic turnover of axons, whole paths are removed and new walkers are injected with specified rates. In the simples...

Skeletal muscles change length and develop force both passively and actively. Gearing allows muscle fiber length changes to be uncoupled from those of the whole muscle-tendon unit. During active contractions this process allows muscles to operate at mechanically favorable conditions for power or economical force production. Here we ask whether gearing is constant in passive muscle; determining ...

1 gastrocnemius muscle-tendon unit in vivo. Abstract 9 Static stretch is commonly used to prevent contracture and to improve joint mobility. 10 However, it is unclear whether the components of the muscle-tendon unit are affected 11 by a static stretch training program. This study investigated the effect of a four-week 12 static stretch training program on the viscoelastic properties of the musc...

From the embarrassing character commonly infiltrating eloquent brain regions, the surgical resection of glioma remains challenging. Owing to the recent development of in vivo visualization techniques for the human brain, white matter regions can be delineated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as a routine clinical practice in neurosurgery. In confirmation of the results of DTI tractography, ...

Muscle is a three dimensional (3D) entity with varying shape across the length of the muscle and changes shape during contraction. Changes in muscle shape can influence the orientation of the fascicles within the muscle [1]. Dissection studies examining 3D muscle fascicles architecture have reported regional variations in the fascicle architecture [2]. 2D ultrasound studies have shown that the ...

A common complication of reconstructive surgery is muscle contracture and consequent loss of joint motion. This particularly occurs in surgical lengthening procedures where the muscle adaptive capacity seems to limit the extent of possible lengthening. We used intraoperative laser diffraction to determine the skeletal muscle adaptation that occurred in a 16-year-old girl who had 4-cm femoral le...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to find a strength training protocol which maintains isometric contraction of the triceps surae during dorsal flexion of the ankle. [Subjects] The left feet of 22 young normal volunteers who did not have orthopedic injuries or lower limb pain participated in this study. [Methods] All subjects performed four sets of five repetitions of four sets calf-raise...

To maintain a stable, upright posture, the central nervous system (CNS) must integrate sensory information from multiple sources and subsequently generate corrective torque about the ankle joint. Although proprioceptive information from the muscles that cross this joint has been shown to be vital in this process, the specific source of this information remains questionable. Recent research has ...

OBJECT The authors used a fiber dissection technique to describe the temporal stem and explain the tendency of malignant tumors to spread within both the frontal and temporal lobes. The authors focused on the morphological characteristics and course of various fasciculi of the temporal stem, including the uncinate fascicle, occipitofrontal fascicle, anterior commissure, loop of the optic radiat...