his lab report discussed and elaborated how muscle contraction is an intricate and precise step-by-step process in the body. The concepts outlined at the introduction intertwine with the experiments performed in this lab. The experiments aimed to showcase the physiological cause and effect of skeletal muscle response towards various situations. For instance, the first experiment demonstrated spatial summation through the form of muscle recruitment. The cause of this reaction was due to the increased voltage stimulus on the sciatic nerve. Furthermore, the second case study exhibited temporal summation, where constant stimulus exposure lead to a fusion of twitches called a tetanic contraction. As for the third experiment, it was the opposite
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This consecutive and maintained wave height with a short refractory period is considered an unfused tetanic contraction, caused by low frequencies of action potential (Widmaier et al, 2015, 271). Proceeding to trials 8.0 pps and 15.0 pps, a moderate increase in muscle tension occurred, until the final rise in trial 25.0. This linear rise represented fused tetanic contractions via temporal summation that eventual resulted in the maximum tension. However, it is important to note that tetanic contraction is a gradual process that first involves weak muscle contractions, then unfused tetanic contraction. This leads to a high frequency of action potential that have no refractory period, allowing the contractions to fuse into a sizable tension known as a tetanic contraction (Widmaier et al, 2015, 271). Data from Figure 2 interconnects with a study done in monosynaptic reflex response where temporal summation was achieved between 60 to 100 seconds after repetitive stimulation (Lloyd, 1956, 433). For the skeletal muscle experiment, temporal summation was achieved after the third trial, which was approximately 135 seconds. This slight differentiation was caused by the methods the researchers took versus the lab manual …show more content…
A sharp fall in tension magnitude was correlated with the injection of the Tubocurare. The data represent the moment the injection stopped, and the first two minutes saw the greatest decrease. The muscle tension average was 21.43 grams during the first 15 seconds. Although the preconceived expectations before starting the experiment involved a sharper decline of muscle tension that fall between 5 to 0 grams, there was still a sufficient and concrete decline emphasized on Figure 3. In a molecular level, this fall is attributed to the tubocurare ions occupying the receptor site of acetylcholine, thus the muscle contraction process weakened. Furthermore, this was the point in time when tubocurare had the greatest presence in the gastrocnemius muscle of the frog, which correlated with the fast tension
This consecutive and maintained wave height with a short refractory period is considered an unfused tetanic contraction, caused by low frequencies of action potential (Widmaier et al, 2015, 271). Proceeding to trials 8.0 pps and 15.0 pps, a moderate increase in muscle tension occurred, until the final rise in trial 25.0. This linear rise represented fused tetanic contractions via temporal summation that eventual resulted in the maximum tension. However, it is important to note that tetanic contraction is a gradual process that first involves weak muscle contractions, then unfused tetanic contraction. This leads to a high frequency of action potential that have no refractory period, allowing the contractions to fuse into a sizable tension known as a tetanic contraction (Widmaier et al, 2015, 271). Data from Figure 2 interconnects with a study done in monosynaptic reflex response where temporal summation was achieved between 60 to 100 seconds after repetitive stimulation (Lloyd, 1956, 433). For the skeletal muscle experiment, temporal summation was achieved after the third trial, which was approximately 135 seconds. This slight differentiation was caused by the methods the researchers took versus the lab manual …show more content…
A sharp fall in tension magnitude was correlated with the injection of the Tubocurare. The data represent the moment the injection stopped, and the first two minutes saw the greatest decrease. The muscle tension average was 21.43 grams during the first 15 seconds. Although the preconceived expectations before starting the experiment involved a sharper decline of muscle tension that fall between 5 to 0 grams, there was still a sufficient and concrete decline emphasized on Figure 3. In a molecular level, this fall is attributed to the tubocurare ions occupying the receptor site of acetylcholine, thus the muscle contraction process weakened. Furthermore, this was the point in time when tubocurare had the greatest presence in the gastrocnemius muscle of the frog, which correlated with the fast tension