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As the stimulus frequency increases, what will happen to the muscle force generated with each successive stimulus? Will there be a limit to this response?

A. As the stimulus frequency increases, the muscle force generated by each successive stimulus will increase. There will be no limit to this increase.

B. As the stimulus frequency increases, the muscle force generated by each successive stimulus will increase. There will be a limit to this increase.

C. As the stimulus frequency increases, the muscle force generated by each successive stimulus will remain the same.

D. As the stimulus frequency increases, the muscle force generated by each successive stimulus will first increase and then decrease as the stimulus frequency becomes very high.

Answer :

Final answer:

As stimulus frequency increases, muscle force generated increases due to temporal summation, but there is a limit. This limit occurs when muscle contractions reach tetanus, preventing further force generation. Eventually, at excessively high frequencies, force can decrease due to fatigue.


Explanation:

The Effect of Stimulus Frequency on Skeletal Muscle Contraction

As the stimulus frequency increases, the muscle force generated by each successive stimulus will increase due to a phenomenon known as temporal summation. This occurs when the muscle does not have enough time to relax between stimuli, resulting in a stronger contraction with each additional stimulus. However, there is a limit to this increase; at very high frequencies, the muscle may enter a state known as tetanus, where the muscle contraction reaches a maximum level and might not be able to produce any more force despite increased frequency.

In practice, as you increase the stimulus frequency, you will observe:

  1. Initially, an increase in force with each successive stimulus.
  2. A plateau phase where the force generated stabilizes.
  3. Finally, if the frequency becomes excessively high, a decrease in the force may occur due to fatigue or other physiological limits.

Conclusion

Therefore, the correct statement is: As the stimulus frequency increases, the muscle force generated by each successive stimulus will increase. There will be a limit to this increase as muscles reach their maximum contraction strength.


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