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Muscle contraction
A muscle contraction (also known as a muscle twitch or simply twitch) occurs when a muscle fiber generates tension through the action of actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling. While under tension, the muscle may lengthen, shorten or remain the same. Though the term 'contraction' implies a shortening or reduction, when used as a scientific term referring to the muscular system contraction refers to the generation of tension by muscle fibers with the help of motor nuerons. Locomotion in most higher animals is possible only through the repeated contraction of many muscles at the correct times. Contraction is controlled by the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord. Voluntary muscle contractions are initiated in the brain, while the spinal cord initiates involuntary reflexes. Additional recommended knowledge
Contractions, by muscle typeFor voluntary muscles, contraction occurs as a result of conscious effort originating in the brain. The brain sends signals, in the form of action potentials, through the nervous system to the motor neuron that innervates the muscle fiber. In the case of some reflexes, the signal to contract can originate in the spinal cord through a feedback loop with the grey matter. Involuntary muscles such as the heart or smooth muscles in the gut and vascular system contract as a result of non-conscious brain activity or stimuli endogenous to the muscle itself. Other actions such as locomotion, breathing, chewing have a reflex aspect to them; the contractious can be initiated consciously or unconsciously, but are continued through unconscious reflex. There are three general types of muscle tissues:
Skeletal and cardiac muscles are called striated muscle because of their striped appearance under a microscope which is due to the highly organized alternating pattern of A band and I band. While nerve impulse profiles are, for the most part, always the same, skeletal muscles are able to produce varying levels of contractile force. This phenomenon can be best explained by Force Summation. Force Summation describes the addition of individual twitch contractions to increase the intensity of overall muscle contraction. This can be achieved in two ways: (1) by increasing the number and size of contractile units simultaneously, called multiple fiber summation, and (2) by increasing the frequency at which action potentials are sent to muscle fibers, called frequency summation.
Skeletal muscle contractionsSkeletal muscles contract according to the sliding filament model:
The calcium ions leave the troponin molecule in order to maintain the calcium ion concentration in the sarcoplasm. The active pumping of calcium ions into the sarcoplasmic reticulum creates a deficiency in the fluid around the myofibrils. This causes the removal of calcium ions from the troponin. Thus the tropomyosin-troponin complex again covers the binding sites on the actin filaments and contraction ceases. Classification of voluntary muscular contractionsVoluntary muscular contractions can be classified several ways. One of these categorizes them as either eccentric or concentric.
Alternatively, muscle contractions can be categorized as isometric or isotonic.
Smooth muscle contractionThe interaction of sliding actin and myosin filaments is similar in smooth muscle. There are differences in the proteins involved in contraction in vertebrate smooth muscle compared to cardiac and skeletal muscle. Smooth muscle does not contain troponin, but does contain the thin filament protein tropomyosin and other notable proteins-caldesmon and calponin. Contractions are initiated by the calcium activated phosphorylation of myosin rather than calcium binding to troponin. Contractions in vertebrate smooth muscle are initiated by agents that increase intracellular calcium. This is a process of depolarizing the sarcolemma and extracellular calcium entering through L type calcium channels, and intracellular calcium release predominately from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum is from Ryanodine receptor channels (calcium sparks) by a redox process and Inositol triphosphate receptor channels by the second messenger inositol triphosphate. The intracellular calcium binds with calmodulin which then binds and activates myosin-light chain kinase. The calcium-calmodulin-myosin light chain kinase complex phosphorylates myosin, specifically on the 20 kilodalton (kd) myosin light chains on amino acid residue-serine 19 to initiate contraction and activate the myosin ATPase. The phosphorylation of caldesmon and calponin by various kinases is suspected to play a role in smooth muscle contraction. Phosphorylation of the 20 kd myosin light chains correlates well with the shortening velocity of smooth muscle. During this period there is a rapid burst of energy utilization as measured by oxygen consumption. Within a few minutes of initiation the calcium level markedly decrease, the 20 kd myosin light chains phosphorylation decreases, and energy utilization decreases, however there is a sustained maintenance of force in tonic smooth muscle. During contraction of muscle, rapidly cycling crossbridges form between activated actin and phosphorylated myosin generating force. The maintenance of force is hypothesized to result from dephosphorylated "latch-bridges" that slowly cycle and maintain force. A number of kinases such as ROCK, Zip kinase, and Protein Kinase C are believed to participate in the sustained phase of contraction, and calcium flux may be significant. Invertebrate smooth musclesIn invertebrate smooth muscle, contraction is initiated with calcium directly binding to myosin and then rapidly cycling cross-bridges generating force. Similar to vertebrate tonic smooth muscle there is a low calcium and low energy utilization catch phase. This sustained phase or catch phase has been attributed to a catch protein that is similar to myosin light chain kinase and titin called twitchin. ContractionsConcentric contractionA concentric contraction is a type of muscle contraction in which the muscles shorten while generating force. During a concentric contraction, a muscle is stimulated to contract according to the sliding filament mechanism. This occurs throughout the length of the muscle, generating force at the musculo-tendinous junction, causing the muscle to shorten and changing the angle of the joint. In relation to the elbow, a concentric contraction of the biceps would cause the arm to bend at the elbow and hand to move from near to the leg, to close to the shoulder (a biceps curl). A concentric contraction of the triceps would change the angle of the joint in the opposite direction, straightening the arm and moving the hand towards the leg. Eccentric contractionDuring an eccentric contraction, the muscle elongates while under tension due to an opposing force being greater than the force generated by the muscle.[1] Rather than working to pull a joint in the direction of the muscle contraction, the muscle acts to decelerate the joint at the end of a movement or otherwise control the repositioning of a load. This can occur involuntarily (when attempting to move a weight too heavy for the muscle to lift) or voluntarily (when the muscle is 'smoothing out' a movement). Over the short-term, strength training involving both eccentric and concentric contractions appear to increase muscular strength more than training with concentric contractions alone.[2] During an eccentric contraction of the biceps muscle, the elbow starts the movement while bent and then straightens as the hand moves away from the shoulder. During an eccentric contraction of the triceps muscle, the elbow starts the movement straight and then bends as the hand moves towards the shoulder. Desmin, titin, and other z-line proteins are involved in eccentric contractions, but their mechanism is poorly understood in comparison to cross-bridge cycling in concentric contractions.[1] Muscles undergoing heavy eccentric loading suffer greater damage when overloaded (such as during muscle building or strength training exercise) as compared to concentric loading. When eccentric contractions are used in weight training they are normally called "negatives". During a concentric contraction muscle fibers slide across each other pulling the Z-lines together. During an eccentric contraction, the filaments slide past each other the opposite way, though the actual movement of the myosin heads during an eccentric contraction is not known. Exercise featuring a heavy eccentric load can actually support a greater weight (muscles are approximately 10% stronger during eccentric contractions than during concentric contractions) and also results in greater muscular damage and delayed onset muscle soreness one to two days after training. Exercise that incorporates both eccentric and concentric muscular contractions (i.e. involving a strong contraction and a controlled lowering of the weight) can produce greater gains in strength than concentric contractions alone.[3][4] The caveat for this is that heavy eccentric contractions can easily lead to over-training since they are so demanding. Eccentric contractions in movementEccentric contractions normally occur as a braking force in opposition to a concentric contraction to protect joints from damage. During virtually any routine movement, eccentric contractions assist in keeping motions smooth, but can also slow rapid movements such as a punch or throw. Part of training for rapid movements such as pitching during baseball involves reducing eccentric braking allowing a greater power to be developed throughout the movement. Eccentric contractions are being researched for their ability to speed rehab of weak or injured tendons. Achilles tendinitis has been shown to benefit from high load eccentric contractions.[5][6] Isometric contractionAn isometric contraction of a muscle generates force without changing length. An example can be found in the muscles of the hand and forearm grip an object; the joints of the hand do not move but muscles generate sufficient force to prevent the object from being dropped. See also
Additional imagesReferences
Categories: Exercise physiology | Muscular system |
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Muscle_contraction". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |