A neural network model for spino-muscular generation of launching and braking forces by opponent muscles

The authors (1991) previously reported results on a mathematical model of the spinal circuitry known to be involved in controlling the balance of forces generated by muscles pulling from opposite sides of rotary joints in higher vertebrates. The model´s neural connectivity is described. The model, known by the acronym FLETE, encapsulates the hypothesis that the spinal circuitry evolved to allow factorization or independent control of muscle length and muscle tension. The FLETE model revealed that such independent control requires specialized interneuronal circuitry to efficiently coordinate the opponent force generators. That analysis is extended to incorporate neuronal circuitry that ensures efficient opponent force generation and velocity regulation during movement