Differential Muscle Function in Locomotion: The Equine Forelimb as a Model System of "Gearing" in Running Gaits

Hermanson博士将研究肌肉结构与其在哺乳动物跑步中的功能作用之间的关系。当肌肉缩短超过其长度的三分之一时，控制肌肉长度的化学交叉桥停止重叠，从而停止产生力量。他将测试一个主要假设，即短纤维肌肉在高速步态中是活跃的，并且它们在运动过程中起着弹性能量储存结构的作用。这项研究的独特之处在于，它关注的是马的一对经过充分研究的肌肉，这些肌肉在被动保持装置中的作用已经得到了很好的表征。这项研究将提供新的视角到正常哺乳动物肌肉的设计系统（马），这是重要的，也提供了基本的见解肌肉设计的问题。

Dr. Hermanson will study the relationship between muscle architecture and its functional role in mammalian running. When muscles shorten more than one/third of their length, the chemical cross-bridges that control muscle length cease to overlap and thus cease to generate force. He will test a primary hypothesis that short-fibered muscles are active during high-speed gaits and that they function as elastic energy storage structures during locomotion. The study is unique in that it focuses on pairs of well-studied muscles in horses that have been well characterized for their role in passive stay apparatus. This research will provide new perspective into the design of normal mammalian muscle in a system (equine) that is of importance and also provides fundamental insight into issues of muscle design.