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

赫曼森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。他将验证一个基本假设，即短纤维肌肉在高速步态中活跃，在运动中作为弹性能量存储结构发挥作用。这项研究的独特之处在于，它专注于对马的两块肌肉进行了充分的研究，这些肌肉因其在被动支撑装置中的作用而被很好地描述。这项研究将为在一个系统(马)中设计正常的哺乳动物肌肉提供新的视角，这一点很重要，也为肌肉设计的问题提供了基本的见解。

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.