The relative sensitivity of muscle nerve fibres to procaine

Matthews, P. B. C.; Rushworth, Geoffrey

doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1957.sp005708

Cited by 121 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The large afferents of soleus are paralysed at about the same time as the large motor fibres by our particular method of applying procaine (Matthews & Rushworth, 1957). Indeed the large motor fibres are on the whole slightly more susceptible to procaine than the large afferent fibres.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…The most important is that the tonic stretch reflex did not always disappear completely, but persisted for a time at a new level after an initial fall under the influence (Matthews &Rushworth, 1957 (Adrian & Bronk, 1929;Hunt, 1952), yet this is the frequency of stimulation we have used to produce a tetanus. The possible importance of block of the second impulse in a double discharge was investigated by stimulating the nerve with two shocks at an interval of 3-5 msec.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experiments, besides confirming their results, have produced some additional findings which are not easily explained either by Wedensky inhibition or by block of large afferent fibres. In the following paper (Matthews & Rushworth, 1957) it is shown that the y motor fibres are paralysed by procaine before either the large motor or the large afferent fibres, while both these groups of large fibres are later paralysed at about the same rate. The evidence for the conclusion that the sensitivity of muscle reflexes to local anaesthetics is due to preferential paralysis of small motor fibres has already been briefly published (Matthews & Rushworth, 1956).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Paralysis of the y efferents by procaine will account for all the phenomena described in this paper, and the y efferents are much more susceptible to procaine than either the large afferent or the large efferent nerve fibres (Matthews & Rushworth, 1957). The decerebrate cat prepared by section of the mid brain has much y efferent activity, and the removal of this y tone by ventral root section decreases the resting discharge from soleus muscle spindles as well as the discharge produced by stretching (Eldred et al 1953).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The selective effect of procaine on the stretch reflex and tendon jerk of soleus muscle when applied to its nerve

Matthews¹,

Rushworth²

1957

The Journal of Physiology

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127

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This paper describes a re-investigation into the mechanism of the selective action of local anaesthetics in paralysing muscle reflexes before affecting muscle power when they are injected into a muscle or applied to nerve. The problem has attracted little interest for the last 25 years, though it has important theoretical and practical implications for the understanding of muscle tone and movement.In 1919, Liljestrand & Magnus showed that the injection of 0 5-1 ml. of 1 % procaine into the triceps muscle of a decerebrate cat almost abolished the rigidity of that muscle without altering its response to stimulation of the brachial plexus or removing reflexes produced by turning the animal's head. Larger doses (4-8 ml.) were required to remove the last traces of tone and these also abolished the response to nerve stimulation, but not the response to direct faradic stimulation of the muscle. The experiments were performed as a preliminary to an investigation of the muscular spasm produced by tetanus toxin, and this was similarly abolished by small doses of procaine in the early stages of poisoning at a time when the spasm could still be removed by dorsal root section. They concluded that the action of procaine was to paralyse the muscle proprioceptor fibres before the motor fibres, as they, like Sherrington (1898), had shown that decerebrate rigidity was largely abolished by dorsal root section.Walshe (1924) used this method of intramuscular procaine injection to analyse the rigidity in patients with paralysis agitans. Appropriately graded injections into biceps or triceps muscles abolished the rigidity in these muscles alone, leaving them 'atonic, flabby and offering no resistance to passive stretch' and without a jerk. Meanwhile, the voluntary power of these muscles was unchanged and the freedom of voluntary movement greatly increased, though the tremor persisted. There were signs of slight ataxia and the injected muscles became 'painless [sic] to deep pressure or pinching'. Similar effects were 16-2

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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The selective effect of procaine on the stretch reflex and tendon jerk of soleus muscle when applied to its nerve

Matthews¹,

Rushworth²

1957

The Journal of Physiology

Self Cite

127

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“…During the course of these experiments, it seemed possible that the two types of preparation that have been described might merely reflect different total amounts of fusimotor activity. To obtain further information on this point, conduction in the small fibres of the soleus nerve was blocked with lignocaine (Xylocaine) (Matthews & Rushworth, 1957;Critchlow & von Euler, 1963).…”

Section: Clonusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The reflex response to sinusoidal stretching of soleus in the decerebrate cat

Jansen¹,

Rack²

1966

The Journal of Physiology

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SUMMARY1. Soleus muscle in the decerebrate cat was stretched sinusoidally through various distances, at various frequencies while tension and e.m.g. activity were recorded.2. Two patterns of stretch reflex activity were seen. In one, slow stretching led to a large increase in tension, whereas in the other tension increased little during slow stretching, but rose steeply during a more rapid stretch. Intermediate states were also seen.3. Both these reflex patterns were abolished when the fusimotor fibres were blocked with Xylocaine.4. At low frequencies of stretching the e.m.g. activity was greatest at peak muscle length; at higher frequencies the greatest activity was found during lengthening. This angular advance of e.m.g. activity on length was greatest at 3-3-5 c/s. At the higher frequencies the e.m.g. activity was less in advance of muscle length.5. Angular advance of e.m.g. activity was greatest in the preparations that were also the most sensitive to slow stretching. 6. Muscle contraction follows an electrical stimulus with a small delay. The delay between the end of stimulation and the end of muscle relaxation is longer, and may exceed 200 msec in cat soleus.7. The timing of the reflex tension during sinusoidal stretching depended on how far the angular advance of the e.m.g. combined with the damping properties of muscle offset the time delays in the reflex pathway.8. Changes in muscle tension generally preceded changes in muscle length. When, however, stretch amplitudes of 1 mm (peak to peak) were used, a phase delay of tension was sometimes seen. This only occurred in preparations that also showed little sensitivity to slow stretching.9. Phase delay of tension was usually found with frequencies of * Present address: Department of Physiology, University of Birmingham.

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Fusimotor Nerve Function in Man

Landau¹

1960

Arch Neurol

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the last decade indicates that such a system does, indeed, exist, although not in the sense of a mechanism that produces tonic muscular contraction directly.The efferent innervation of muscle spindle tension receptors by a special group of ventral spinal root fibers was first suggested by the finding that stimulation of the small (gamma) ventral root fibers (comprising about 25% of the total in the cat) produced no further muscle shortening beyond that produced by stimulation of the large (alpha) motor fibers.3 Leksell4 first directly confirmed this function of the gamma efferent (fusimotor) fibers.The sensitivity of muscle spindle stretch receptors is modulated by the level of activity of the fusimotor neurones; gamma efferent impulses produce shortening of the specialized intrafusal muscle fibers and con¬ sequent potentiation of discharge due to stretch of the related annulo-spiral and flower-spray afferent end-organs. Although fusimotor neuron discharge can be varied by stimulation of a variety of central and afferent pathways,5"15 the basal level of ac¬ tivity is little affected by dorsal root sec¬ tion.12 Hunt ß showed that the response of the alpha motoneuron pool to a transient proprioceptive volley may be potentiated by tonic muscle spindle afferent impulses which are in turn conditioned by the level of ac¬ tivity in the fusimotor system. Thus tonic fusimotor hyperactivity offers a possible theoretical basis for pathologically increased reflexes and muscle tone by sensitization at both stretch receptor and spinal levels. Decreased fusimotor activity has been sug¬ gested as the mechanism underlying the symptoms of cerebellar lesions.14 Gasser and Erlanger 1ß first demonstrated that nerve fibers of smaller diameter and slower conduction rate are more susceptible to block by cocaine than are larger ones. They studied the alpha, beta, gamma, and delta components of the A elevation in frog and dog nerves, and suggested that the phe¬ nomenon might explain previously reported sensory dissociation experiments with local anesthesia in man. Later, after the dis¬ covery of the C potential from unmyelinated fibers,17 differential procaine block was ap¬ plied to man with the correlation of electrophysiological and perceptual data.18,19 Sarnoff and Arrowood 20 improved the tech¬ nique of spinal anesthesia and reported a paradox : light spinal anesthesia abolished the tendon jerks without affecting proprioception or muscle strength. Now it seems clear 21"25 that they were blocking the fusi¬ motor fibers; the muscle spindle stretch receptor threshold then rose so high that

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The relative sensitivity of muscle nerve fibres to procaine

Cited by 121 publications

References 6 publications

The selective effect of procaine on the stretch reflex and tendon jerk of soleus muscle when applied to its nerve

The selective effect of procaine on the stretch reflex and tendon jerk of soleus muscle when applied to its nerve

The reflex response to sinusoidal stretching of soleus in the decerebrate cat

Fusimotor Nerve Function in Man

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