Sensory representation of a non‐planar joint in the walking legs of the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus

Abstract

The patello‐tibial joint in the walking leg of the horseshoe crab can move in the flexion‐extension and promotion‐remotion planes with the freedom of movement of a ball‐and‐socket joint. Its mechanical status is represented by at least seven populations of sensory neurons and these include three different types of proprioceptors; articular membrane receptors, muscle length receptors and muscle tension receptors. A population of each of these types of proprioceptor is associated with structures on the anterior and posterior sides of each leg. In this report we describe the representation of joint movement in both planes by two populations of each type of proprioceptor. In general, the articular membrane receptors were most sensitive to joint flexion; receptors on the anterior side of the leg were biased toward promotion, while those on the posterior were biased toward remotion. Muscle length receptor activity was increased by joint extension and was slightly augmented, in posterior and anterior length receptors, by promotion and remotion, respectively. Length receptor tonic activity was a linear function of muscle length for extension but a non‐linear function of muscle flexion. Tension receptor activity was always highly dependent upon active muscular contraction. Tension receptors associated with posterior tibial flexor showed enhanced activity when the joint was promoted; the activity of those associated with the anterior flexor was enhanced by remotion. The relationships between tension receptor activity and muscle length, and between tension receptor activity and joint position, were also explored. While no single receptor population appears capable of representing the status of this joint in both planes, the output of all of the receptor populations studied appears to provide the CNS with unambiguous information about several parameters representing the status of this complex joint.

Notes

Present address: Division of Laboratories and Research, N.Y. State Department of Health, Empire State Plaza, Albany, N.Y. 12201.

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