Investigating Skeletal Muscle Response to Varying Stimulus Intensity

This report investigates the effect of stimulus intensity on skeletal muscle response, focusing on the development of different frequency tensions. The introduction provides a detailed overview of skeletal muscle anatomy, including muscle fibers, sarcomeres, and the role of the peripheral nerve system. It explains how motor axons innervate muscle fibers, leading to muscle contraction through the sliding filament mechanism and the neuromuscular junction. The body of the report discusses the action potential, neurotransmitter release (acetylcholine), and the twitch response, including the latent period and twitch summation. It also highlights the role of calcium ions in muscle contraction and relaxation. The results section summarizes an experiment conducted at Deakin University, demonstrating how stimulus intensities affect skeletal muscles and the resulting frequency tension. The report concludes that a second twitch applied during the contraction phase of the first twitch causes greater tension due to the recruitment of more calcium ions. The study references key physiology texts to support its findings.