The orderly recruitment of motor units of the masseter and temporal muscles during voluntary isometric contraction in man.

Abstract

1. The contractile properties of the motor units of the masseter and temporal muscles of human subjects were studied during voluntary isometric contractions, using a method previously employed to examine units of a small hand muscle. 2. Over the range of forces studied (0-6 kg), the units of both muscles were recruited in an orderly fashion, with a nearly linear relationship between the voluntary force at which units were recruited and their measured twitch tensions. 3. The range of contraction times (25-90 msec) was similar to that observed for the hand muscle. In some subjects it seemed that small units, recruited at low forces, exhibited shorter contraction times.