Modulation and Adaptability of Mechanical Properties of Mammalian Skeletal Muscle

Basic mechanical properties of the isolated skeletal muscle fiber are outhned in this chapter. Behavior of the motor units and modulation of the mechanical properties in voluntary contraction are then explained. Finally, findings concerning the morphological and metabolic changes resulting from nerve-induced activities or exercise training are described. (1) Viscoelasticity of the whole muscle becomes greater almost linearly with an increase in force of the voluntary contraction. This is attributed to increase in the number of active muscle fibers and in their activities; that is, when the force of the muscle is increased, the motor units are recruited in order of increasing size and their firing rates are increased. (2) Exercise training is accompanied by an increase in fiber size of the muscle (hypertrophy), and possibly by an increase in fiber number (hyperplasia). The transformation of the muscle phenotype occurs in animal experiments; fast muscle fibers that are made to perform a more tonic activity become slower-contracting.

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