The Neuromuscular Control of Contraction in Frog Skeletal Muscle

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the physiological makeup of the frog and then describes the nature of an experiment that examines the physiological processes involved in muscle contraction in frogs. The paper first descrbes the materials and methods of the experiment and then gives a detailed analysis of the results, including corresponding graphs, charts, and figures to illustrate the data.

From the Paper:

"Moreover, looking at Figure 3, at an interval of 20 ms, the muscle has not even gone through one contraction before being re-stimulated, whereas by 400 ms it has already gone through several contraction-relaxation cycles, and might be showing signs of fatigue. However, Figure 4 actually shows a slight increase in the maximum force between 200 and 400 ms. This is likely due to the fact that at 200 ms, the fibre had just completed one cycle and was in a refractory period, whereas by 400 ms, any refractory period was significantly weaker (Suzuki, et al. 2004). Evidently, muscle fatigue is not a major factor until 500 ms (see Figure 5), leaving refractory periods as the main detriment of contraction force before that time period. At the same time, the physiological significance of the gastrocnemius must be considered (Animal Physiology I Laboratory Manual, Lab 5). Since it is a heavily used, and extremely powerful muscle, the time at which it achieves (and sustains) its maximum force is one of the longest. Most vertebrate skeletal muscles would begin to fatigue earlier than 500 ms (Edman et al, 2002)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alberts R., et al. (2008). Molecular Biology of the Cell. 5th ed. Garland Science, New York.
• Animal Physiology I Laboratory Manual. SC/BIOL 3060 4.0. Toronto: York University. Department of Biology, Fall 2008.
• Edman, K. A. P., et al. (2002). Contractile properties of isolated muscle spindles of the frog. Journal of Physiology- London, 541, 905-916.
• Lodish H., et al. (2004). Molecular Cell Biology. 5th ed. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.
• Randall et al. (2002). Eckert animal physiology: mechanisms and adaptations. 5th ed. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.

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