Topic: muscle spindles

Proprioception is essential for planning and executing precise motor actions. It relies on sensory signals from mechanosensory neurons distributed within muscles, tendons, and joints. Muscle spindles convey information through sensory afferents to the central nervous system. While traditionally viewed as stretch receptors encoding muscle length and velocity, recent insights suggest they may function as adaptable signal-processing devices. Spinal gamma motor neurons are believed to drive this adaptability by modulating the responses of sensory afferent to task demands. However, the mechanisms b

The eyes are highly mobile organs, and their direction and position rely on visual and proprioceptive information. Surprisingly, classical proprioceptors (muscle spindles and Golgi tendon organs) are absent in the extraocular muscles (EOMs) of most mammals, except for even-toed ungulates (e.g. pigs). Instead, most mammals have a structure called palisade endings located at the EOM myotendinous junction. Their localization and similarity with Golgi tendon organs suggest they could be sensory structures providing eye position information. However, palisade endings are cholinergic, and their cell