The contractile properties and movement dynamics of pigeon eye muscle

The lateral rectus (LR) muscle of the pigeon was directly stimulated in situ at 41 degrees C. The length tension relationships for active and passive tension were investigated to determine the optimum muscle length (Lo). Isometric responses to single and twin pulses, tetani and sinusoidal stimulation were measured. A linear relationship was found between length and active tension during stimulation. Increase in stimulation frequency produced a corresponding shift in tension with the slope of the curves remaining the same. At Lo (1.21 times resting length) the average contraction time of single twitches was 6.03 ms and the half-relaxation time was 7.77 ms. Stimulation frequencies of 200 Hz and over gave rise to a fused tetanus. Tension increased to a maximum at 200 Hz and rate of tension rise saturated at 600 Hz. The tension response to tetanic stimulation was linear over the range 70-180 Hz. Maximum tetanic tension was around 3.48 N/cm2 and the twitch:tetanus ratio was 0.164. Prolonged activation at fusion frequency showed a high fatigue resistance. Sinusoidal stimulation with pulse trains of 100-180 Hz produced a sinusoidal response over the frequency range 0.6-40 Hz, from which the gain and phase relationships were determined. The muscle response approximates a first order low pass filter, with a characteristic frequency of 11.2 Hz. There is an additional phase lag, equivalent to the response latency, of 2.89 ms. The results are compared to the contractile properties of mammalian eye and avian skeletal muscle. The frequency response of the LR is compared to that of cat soleus and gastrocnemius and to pigeon eye movement dynamics.