Main description:

The Sherrington School of Physiology at St. Thomas' Hospital provided a natural venue for four days of enthusiastic debate on Sherrington's Final Common Path -the alpha motoneurone and related matters; Sherrington himself held a lecturership at St. Thomas' just over a century ago. The occasion was a happy one. Most participants already knew each other, the topics were familiar, the discussion was vigorous and critical but without personal rancor. The program had set out to encourage debate with 'critiques' both of the oral papers and the posters; their inclusion in the present volume helps to show where we are standing on rock rather than sand. In spite of a venerable history some surprisingly simple matters remain controversial, such as the information content of the signals from the Golgi tendon organs. To those working on alpha and gamma motoneurones and their control this volume provides an essential up-dating. Classical problems continue to be attacked on a broad front; advance is steady and continuous, a swelling tide rather than a sudden view of the summit. But in some sectors the difficulties are so great that to the outsider little might seem to change, the same battles continuing; but even here, the terms of debate change and concensus develops. Other branches of biology claim breakthrough upon breakthrough from the routine application of the new technologies, so we have to be the first to ask whether our classical approach to science can still be justified.

Contents:

Motoneurone Inputs: Synaptic Differentiation on Type Identified Motoneurones (L.M. Mendell). Motor Unit Recruitment: Plasticity of Motoneurone Recruitment Order in the Flexion Reflex following Spinal Cord Transection (R.G. Durkovic). Gamma Reflexes: Regulation of the Dynamic and Static Sensitivity of Gastrocnemiussoeus Muscle Spindle Afferents by Joint and Cutaneous Afferents in the Cat (P.H. Ellaway et al.). Innervation Patterns: Early Development of the Muscle Spindle and Its Dependence on Neurotrophic Factors (J. Kucera et al.). Sensory Receptor Properties: Sensory Endings of Living Isolated Mammalian Muscle Spindles (M. Chua, C.C. Hunt). Analysis and Modeling: Analysis of Encoding of Stimulus Separation in Ensembles of Muscle Afferents (H. Johansson et al.). Central Control: Flexibility in the Relationship of Monkey Corticomotoneuronal Cells to Their Target Muscles (R.N. Lemon, K.M.B. Bennett). Pharmacology of Central Control: Expression of Glycine Receptors by Identified Alpha and Gamma Motoneurones (R.E.W. Fyffe et al.). Clinical Implications: Mechanisms Underlying Muscle Synergy Studied in Man (J. Gibbs et al.). Natural Motor Patterns 1. Natural Motor Patterns 2. 125 additional articles. Index.