Structural and Molecular Features of Human Extraocular Muscle Spindles Suggest a Unique Role in Proprioception
Arzu Petersen, Paata Pruidze, Giorgi Didava, Atieh Seyedian Moghaddam, Stefan H. Geyer, Génova Carrero-Rojas, Angel M. Pastor, Wolfgang J. Weninger, Roland Blumer · 2026
Read Structural and Molecular Features of Human Extraocular Muscle Spindles Suggest a Unique Role in Proprioception by Arzu Petersen, Paata Pruidze, Giorgi Didava, Atieh Seyedian Moghaddam, Stefan H. Geyer, Génova Carrero-Rojas, Angel M. Pastor, Wolfgang J. Weninger, Roland Blumer (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13589405.txt.
Description
Petersen and co-authors examine sense organs in human eye muscles in a 2026 study. Muscle spindles report stretch, but those in the muscles that move the eye look odd and their job is in doubt. The team checked whether these spindles hold the same marker molecules as spindles in normal skeletal muscle. They also traced how sense fibers run within the nerves serving the eye muscles.
Samples came from three adults, plus data from a young child and from pigs. Imaging in three dimensions and fine microscopy showed spindles holding chain fibers and fibers much like ordinary muscle fibers. Only part of the usual marker set appeared, though. The mix hints that eye spindles serve a special sense role, tuned to the fine control gaze demands.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Arzu Petersen, Paata Pruidze, Giorgi Didava, Atieh Seyedian Moghaddam, Stefan H. Geyer, Génova Carrero-Rojas, Angel M. Pastor, Wolfgang J. Weninger, Roland Blumer |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 41 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |