Effects of a sudden decrease in the stimulation frequency for motor unit force were studied in rat medial gastrocnemius. For 161 functionally isolated single motor units of three types (S, FR, FF), unfused tetanic contractions were evoked by three-phase trains of stimuli (low-high-low frequency). The course of the tetanus at the onset of the third phase of the force recording was analyzed in tetani with variable fusion degree. For 78 units within the third phase of tetanus, a transitory force decrease to a level lower than in the first phase (identical frequency), was observed. This phenomenon was more frequent for fast fatigue resistant (65.9%) than for fast fatigable and slow motor units (27.1% and 35.5%, respectively). Moreover, the force decrease was strongest for fast resistant motor units (up to 36.5%) and when contractions evoked at variable frequencies of stimulation were compared, the highest amplitudes of the studied force decrease were noted for middle-fused tetani (0.50-0.90). A new phenomenon of transitory force decrease in tetanic contractions of motor units with a decrease in stimulation frequency was found. Most probably, the phenomenon is dependent on disturbances in the force transmission by collagen surrounding active muscles fibers.
Keywords: Force regulation; Motor unit; Rate coding; Stimulation frequency; Unfused tetanus.
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