Authors: R A Kuchinad T D Ivanova S J Garland
Publish Date: 2004/05/14
Volume: 158, Issue: 3, Pages: 345-355
Abstract
Declining motor unit discharge rates and Hreflex amplitude have been observed in separate experiments during fatiguing submaximal contractions in humans The purpose of this experiment was to investigate motor unit discharge rate Hreflex amplitude and twitch contractile properties concurrently during a fatiguing submaximal isometric contraction of the ankle plantarflexors Eleven healthy subjects performed fatiguing contractions of low force 25 maximal voluntary contraction MVC or high force 42–66 MVC Hoffmann Hreflexes muscle compound action potentials Mwaves twitch contractile properties and motor unit discharges were recorded from the soleus muscle In the lowforce fatigue task motor unit firing rate increased gradually over time whereas the resting Hreflex was significantly depressed at 15 of endurance time and remained quasiconstant for the rest of the task This suggests that the processes mediating the resting Hreflex depression are relatively independent of those modulating the motor unit firing rate during a lowforce fatigue task In the highforce fatigue task a decline in the average motor unit discharge rate was accompanied by a decrease in the resting Hreflex amplitude and a prolongation of the twitch halfrelaxation time HRT at the completion of the fatigue task Overall motor unit firing rate was modulated in parallel with changes in the twitch HRT consistent with the muscle wisdom hypothesis
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