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A stretch reflex in extraocular muscles of species purportedly lacking muscle spindles

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Abstract

It is generally assumed that proprioceptive feedback plays a crucial role in limb posture and movement. However, the role of afferent signals from extraocular muscles (EOM) in the control of eye movement has been a matter of continuous debate. These muscles have atypical sensory receptors in several species and it has been proposed that they are not supported by stretch reflexes. We recorded electromyographic activity of EOM during passive rotations of the eye in sedated rats and squirrel monkeys and observed typical stretch reflexes in these muscles. Results suggest that there is a similarity in the reflexive control of limb and eye movement, despite substantial differences in their biomechanics and sensory receptors. Like in some limb skeletal muscles, the stretch reflex in EOM in the investigated species might be mediated by other length-sensitive receptors, rather than muscle spindles.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank James Rengel, Abderraouf Belhaj-Saif and Paul D. Cheney for their help and expertise for data collection. Numa Dancause is supported by a fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Randolph J. Nudo is supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH)-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Grant NS30853, NIH-National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Grant HD02528. Anatol G. Feldman is supported by CIHR and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Correspondence to Numa Dancause.

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Dancause, N., Taylor, M.D., Plautz, E.J. et al. A stretch reflex in extraocular muscles of species purportedly lacking muscle spindles. Exp Brain Res 180, 15–21 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0833-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0833-8

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