Properties of the feedback system controlling the coxa-trochanter joint in the stick insect Carausius morosus

The angle of the coxa-trochanter (C-T) joint in the stick insect Carausius morosus is controlled by a negative feedback mechanism. It is shown that the trochanteral hair plate alone functions as the feedback transducer and that the rhomboid hair plate is not involved in the feedback loop.The properties of the C-T control system were investigated by means of force measurements. The results cannot be adequately described in all details by either a fractional differentiator model, a model which fits many sensory systems, or a nonlinear bandpass filter, a model which fits the force response of the femur-tibia feedback loop. The fractional differentiator model adequately describes the frequency response of the open-loop system to sinusoidal stimulation with 34 deg stimulus amplitude. However, the responses to sinusoidal and steplike stimulation with 10 deg stimulus amplitude do not fit this model. They are better described by the model of a nonlinear bandpass filter.The possible contribution of mechanical properties of the musculature and the joint to the total force response is discussed. It is suggested that cocontractions occurring at higher stimulus frequencies alters the muscle properties and enables the animal to respond to stimulus frequencies above the upper corner frequency of the active feedback loop.