title: Functional characteristics of stretch receptors of flight apparatus of cockroach Periplaneta americana.
abstract: The functional characteristics of the stretch receptors of the wing joints of Periplaneta americana were examined and the possible functional role of these receptors in the maintenance of a stable rhythm of flight is discussed. The stretch receptors of the wing joints are of the phasic-tonic type, with slow and incomplete adaptation by the receptors which discharge upon movement of the wing upward. The nature of the impulse response of a receptor depends both on the angle and the rate of movement of the wing membrane. The arrangement of a hypothetical pacemaker of the insect's wing beats is discussed in detail.
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000502:physiology*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D014921:Wings, Animal / Q000294:innervation* / Q000502:physiology