Deep Tendon Reflex

The researchers tested forty firm subjects: ten young males, ten young females, ten doddering males, and ten old females (1:72). Older subjects were chosen whose physical activeness history approached that of the young subjects (1:72).

Each subject underwent mechanical (hammer mold) foreplay of the Achilles tendon unconditioned instinctive reflex (T) and electrical stimulation of its analogue, the Hreflex of the calf vigours (1:71). The responses were measured electronically (1:73). M and H waves of the reflex musclebuilder action potential (MAP) response were used to judge motoneuron excitability (1:74). Changes with age in the H and T reflexes were therefore compared (1:74).

What DeVries et al. found was a small and nonsignificant unlikeness between the older and younger subjects with respect to the bounteousness of the MAP elicited by the Achilles tendon reflex (1:77). They did distinction though, that the stimulant drug value for a given hammer drop might have been higher in the older subjects delinquent to possible decreased piece of cake of their Achilles tendons (1:77). Such decreased elasticity might result in a great graze of stretch for the older subjects' muscle spindles and, therefore, elicit a great response (1:78).

In addition, the T reflex found to be absent in however one of the older subjects and then only at the lowest hammer drop height (1:78). Thus, the study concluded that areflexia wi

Finally, since it had been suggested that the tot of muscle spindles may decrease in old age, automatically and electrically elicited reflexes were compared (1:79). DeVries et al. postulated that agerelated losings in the function of the fusimotor system should introduce a greater agegroup difference in a automatically elicited monosynaptic response than when the response is elicited electronically and, therefore, in effect bypasses the spindle system (1:79). Since no significant age difference was found between the two different methods of eliciting reflexes, it was concluded that the muscle spindles were not involved (1:7980).

Rather, the authors suggest that physical activity may be as important in maintaining the approach pattern function of the nervous system as it is in the criminal maintenance of structure and function in muscle (1:79). While their possibleness may be tenable, it too seems logical that some muscle spindle activity would decrease with advancing age.

Perhaps it is also worth noting, however, that while Jenkyn and Reeves did acknowledge that ankle jerks diminish with aging, they did not seem entirely convinced that such a conclusion should be uniformly accepted as normal in older populations. The interpretation of any abnormal sign should only be considered within the context of the individual patient.

The results for contralateral instruct showed a slightly different recovery profile from the ipsilateral profile for both groups (3:247). Facilitation occurred in both the older and younger group at early latencies (3:247).

Two experimental treatments were promiscuously assigned to each subject: the right leg T reflex was conditioned by a taps to either the contralateral or ipsilateral patellar tendons (3:246). This conditioning stimulus preceded the test reflex at sequential millisecond intervals (3:246). In addition, control responses with no preceding stimulus were also obtained (3:246). Reflexes were measured electronically, as well as mec
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