Golgi tendon organ

This stretching deforms the terminals of the Ib afferent axon, opening stretch-sensitive cation channels.

[4][7] The Ib sensory feedback generates stretch reflexes and supraspinal responses which control muscle contraction.

Ib afferents synapse with interneurons in the spinal cord that also project to the brain cerebellum and cerebral cortex.

Tendon organs signal muscle force through the entire physiological range, not only at high strain.

[citation needed] However, the underlying premise was shown to be incorrect by James Houk and Elwood Henneman in 1967.

Mammalian tendon organ showing typical position in a muscle (left), neuronal connections in spinal cord (middle) and expanded schematic (right). The tendon organ is a stretch receptor that signals the force developed by the muscle. The sensory endings of the Ib afferent are entwined amongst the musculotendinous strands of 10-20 extrafusal muscle fibers. [ A ] [ 3 ] See an animated version .