A theoretical model of skeletal muscular contraction : entropic springs, stochastic processes and classical mechanics

Modèle théorique de la contraction musculaire squelettique : ressorts entropiques, processus stochastiques et mécanique classique

Sylvain Louvet (1)

1 LMS - Laboratoire de mécanique des solides

The model analyzes the muscle fiber as a deformable system for which experimental data are determinated with the help of the laws of Newtonian mechanic. The model predicts the four transient phases for the shortening of a muscle fiber according to a force or length step. The model shows, on the one hand, the importance of the viscosity during the first phase of these two types of step and, secondly, the interdependence of the six other phases towards a bimodal state after disappearance of actions due to viscosity. The model provides an interpretation for the behavior of a fiber with shortening staircase. The model is consistent with experimental data during temperature changes or various structural alterations.

Keywords: Models; Biological; Muscle Fibers; Skeletal/*physiology; Muscle; Contraction/*physiology Myosins/*physiology; statistics; Entropic spring

Domains: Tissues and Organs [q-bio.TO]; Solid mechanics [physics.class-ph]; Solid mechanics [physics.class-ph]; Applications [stat.AP]

Sylvain Louvet. Modèle théorique de la contraction musculaire squelettique : ressorts entropiques, processus stochastiques et mécanique classique. 2013. ⟨hal-00905034⟩