Inability to increase the neural drive to muscle is associated with task failure during submaximal contractions
Eduardo Martinez‐Valdes, Francesco Negro, Deborah Falla, Jakob Lund Dideriksen, C. J. Heckman, Dario Farina
Abstract
Motor unit firing and contractile properties during a submaximal contraction until failure were assessed with a new tracking technique. Two distinct phases in firing behavior were observed, which compensated for changes in twitch area and predicted time to failure. However, the late increase in firing rate was below the rates attained in absence of fatigue, which points to an inability of the central nervous system to sufficiently increase the neural drive to muscle with fatigue.
Topics & Concepts
Task (project management)NeurosciencePhysical medicine and rehabilitationPsychologyMedicineEngineeringSystems engineeringMuscle activation and electromyography studiesMotor Control and AdaptationTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies