| RefNo | EC/1979/25 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XX, 158 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Merton, Patrick Anthony: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1976 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | In the early 1950's Merton introduced the servo hypothesis of muscle control on the basis of his own human observations.
Then, with Granit on cats, he made important observations on the supraspinal control of the muscle spindle via the fusimotor fibres. The crucial servo interpretation of this work was almost entirely due to Merton.
Over the next 20 years most thought on the role of the muscle spindle and the rationale for its private motor supply was based on this work. The early simple form of the feedback hypothesis is now rejected but various modifications of the initial scheme continue.
In recent elegant human experiments with Marsden, servo-responses are being exhaustively analysed during movement itself. This has indicated that some of the responses are mediated directly from the brain, with important implications for clinical neurology. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA4592 | Merton; Patrick Anthony (1920 - 2000) | 1920 - 2000 |