The use of frequency domain techniques in the study of signal transmission in skeletal muscle

Spectral analysis provides a description of the moments of random signals and enables the characterization of the behaviour of systems in terms of input-output relations. The merits of such an approach in the study of signal transmission in skeletal muscle are described in this paper. The representation of neural spike trains as impulse sequences and the subsequent treatment appropriate for this kind of analysis are discussed together with some practical problems. Spectral analysis of muscle afferent signals is applied to data obtained from cat experiments, and the use of the related frequency-domain techniques is demonstrated on a subsystem of the stretch reflex.