Mitigating Neuromuscular Deficits
This publication review highlights how several researchers have recently employed our instruments and technologies to better understand these mechanisms and uncover new therapeutic avenues for a variety of diseases and disorders.
Identification and Classification of Tongue-Innervating Mechanoreceptors
Join Yalda Moayedi, PhD, for a discussion on how tongue-innervating neurons can be clearly identified and classified according to their mechanosensory functionalities.
Nerve versus Muscle Stimulation: When to Use?
This technical blog discusses the importance of choosing the correct method to measure hindlimb mechanics in animal models: nerve or muscle stimulation.
Best of 2021: Muscle Physiology
This publication review summarizes some of the best recent articles that fall under our Muscle Physiology category.
Biomechanical Properties of GI Smooth Muscle
Image courtesy of Siri et al. (2019). Disorders like gastroparesis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and
Optogenetic activation of muscle contraction in vivo
Optogenetics is a relatively new and exciting field of research aimed at activating excitable cells and bypassing the need for electrical stimulation both ex-vivo and in-vivo. By utilizing Channelrhodopsin-2, researchers can simply activate these cells with blue light, something that has commonly been done in neurons, but limited work has been done with direct activation of skeletal muscle. Researchers therefore aimed to determine the feasibility of using transdermal light to directly induce isometric contractions of the triceps surae in-vivo, measured with the 1300A. The authors targeted expression of ChR2 in the skeletal muscle of mice and showed that optogenetic stimulation bypassed the nerve and resulted in similar torque production to that of electrical stimulation at a frequency of 10Hz. Higher frequencies led to a larger decay in the muscle contractions, shedding light on the significance of membrane repolarization in this process. These results showed the potential for a non-invasive alternative to electrical stimulation of muscle.
Treating Spinal-Muscle Conditions
Featured image courtesy of Bilchak et al. (2021). Spinal disruption can lead to serious
Tips and Tricks for using the 1400A Permeabilized Fiber System
Our 1400A permeabilized fiber system is commonly used to investigate the active and passive properties of skinned, or de-membranized