Precise coding of ankle angle and velocity by human calf muscle spindles

- Here we recorded directly from single human muscle spindle afferents in the triceps surae using microneurography.
- We observed that these muscle spindles are sensitive enough to code for the ankle movements associated with quiet standing.
- We further observed that soleus had the most sensitive muscle spindle afferents.
- This is an important first step in a complete understanding of how muscle spindles contribute to the control of balance.

Human standing balance control requires the integration of sensory feedback to produce anticipatory, stabilizing ankle torques. However, the ability of human triceps surae muscle spindles to provide reliable sensory feedback regarding the small, slow ankle movements that occur during upright standing has recently come under question. We performed microneurography to directly record axon potentials from single muscle spindle afferents in the human triceps surae during servo-controlled movement of the ankle joint. To simulate movements of the ankle while standing, we delivered random 90-s dorsiflexion/plantar flexion oscillations of the ankle joint, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.7° and frequency content below 0.5 Hz. In roughly half of the trials (46%), participants held a low-level, near-isometric contraction of the triceps surae muscles. We demonstrate that afferent activity in a population of muscle spindles closely reflects ankle movements at frequencies and amplitudes characteristic of human standing. Four out of five soleus spindles, and three out of seven gastrocnemius spindles coded for at least a single frequency component of anteroposterior ankle rotation. Concatenating within muscles, coherence was significantly greater for soleus spindles at all stimulus frequencies. Voluntary contraction of the parent muscle reduced spindle sensitivity, but only significantly near the mean power frequency of the stimulus (∼0.3 Hz). In conclusion, these results provide direct evidence that triceps surae muscle spindles are potentially capable of providing important sensory feedback for the control of human standing balance.