PHYS20008 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Motor Neuron, Troponin, Motor Unit
27 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
* skeletal muscle is attached to skeleton and enables us to move in space this occurs through contraction & relaxation. * skeletal muscle has excitable cells that can fire an action potential and result in contraction. * a motor unit refers to a single alpha motor neuron and all the muscle fibres it innervates. * to increase the strength of contraction, you recruit more motor units. Start off for a light contraction - just need a small number of alpha motor neurons, then gradually recruit more alpha motor neurons to increase strength of contraction. For optimal contraction recruit all alpha motor neurons causing contraction in all muscle fibres. * each motor unit has an all or none response stimulation of a motor neuron activates all of its component muscle fibres. * all muscle fibres in a single motor unit have simular metabolic and contractile properties. * muscles are made up of parallel fibres.
