A Non-Linear Mechanical Model of A Non-Spiking Muscle Receptor

The sensory response of a mechanoreceptor is generally assumed to be a compound function of its mechanical and electrochemical properties. In a muscle receptor such as the mammalian muscle spindle or crayfish stretch receptor, the former depend upon the visco-elastic elements of the receptor muscle and its linkages with the sensory endings, while the latter properties reside within the sensory neurone itself. Analysis of these systems is complicated, however, by the difficulty in defining the precise stimulus obtaining at the site of transduction, and by the possible modifying influence of the impulse encoding process.