The Muscle Spindle: The Most Important Sensory Organ You’ve Never Heard Of

Authors

Katherine A. Wilkinson, San Jose State UniversityFollow

Files

Description

The muscle spindle senses muscle length and movement. This information is essential for the ability to complete complex motor behaviors and the sense of body and limb position. Many diseases and other conditions impair the function of the muscle spindle and can lead to movement and balance problems. The Wilkinson Lab at San José State University is interested in understanding how the muscle spindle translates muscle stretch into action potentials and what causes it to malfunction. Recent work identifying components of the molecular machinery in the muscle spindle and human genetic diseases that affect muscle spindle function will be discussed.

About the Author

Katie Wilkinson is a professor of Biological Sciences at San José State University. She received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Diego and was a Fellowships in Research and Scientific Teaching (FIRST) postdoctoral fellow at Emory University. She runs a student-centered neurophysiology research lab focused on understanding how muscle stretch information is encoded in the muscle spindle. She is chair of the American Physiological Society’s Science Policy Committee and SJSU’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and in those roles advocates for the importance of ethical biomedical research.

Date of Event

Fall 11-15-2023

Keywords

Muscle spindle, Motor behaviors, Movement problems, Balance problems

Disciplines

Biology | Cognitive Neuroscience | Motor Control | Physiology

Comments

1 streaming video file (51 min.) : digital, sound, color. Closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.

Recommended Citation

Wilkinson, Katherine A., "The Muscle Spindle: The Most Important Sensory Organ You’ve Never Heard Of" (2023). University Scholar Series. 55.
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/uss/55