A stochastic model of skeletal muscle based on motor unit properties

Abstract The properties of individual motor units are used as the basis for the formulation of a mathematical model of force generation by skeletal muscle. Using known data from cat motor units and with the assumptions of linearity and that twitch initiations obey a Poisson distribution, the dynamic force response of a whole muscle is calculated and compared with published experimental data. This research was performed while the first author held an N.I.H. Special Fellowship at the University of Southern California. The research was sponsored in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under grant NGR 05-018-022, and in part by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant AF-AFOSR 1018-67B.

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