Myostatics

MYOSTATICS, an anatomical-physiological concept introduced by Strümpel for denoting the aggregate of mechanisms of the motor system by means of which involuntary contractions of the corresponding muscles occur for the proper setting of the body and its parts, necessary for ensuring the correct and purposeful execution of voluntary movement. This participation of M. in each complex motor act is manifested by changes in the tone of voluntarily contracting muscles and their antagonists, as well as by the fixation of both the entire body and its parts in the most advantageous position for this complex movement. In this respect, M. is an essential part of the complex motor act, along with myodynamics, under which are meant the individual voluntary muscle contractions that make up the complex movement and the displacement of body parts caused by them. Thus, the mechanism of M. needs to include both the extrapyramidal part of the motor system and the cerebellar system, i.e., the function of M. encompasses the motor functions of the striatum and pallidum, the static and stato-kinetic reflexes of the neck and labyrinth, the functions of the cerebellum as a whole, the proprioceptive reflexes of the spinal cord, etc. (see Myostatic symptom complex).