Cutaneous silent period evoked in human first dorsal interosseous muscle motor units by laser stimulation

Painful stimulation of the hand results in an inhibitory response in the hand muscles known as the cutaneous silent period (CSP). In this study, we employed probability- and frequency-based analysis methods to examine the CSP induced by laser stimuli. Subjects were asked to contract their first dorsal interosseous muscle so that selected motor units discharged at a rate of about 8 Hz. Laser pulses were delivered to the palm of the hand, and reflex responses were recorded. The stimuli generated CSP in all test subjects. We found that the latency of the CSP evoked using laser stimulation was longer than that the previously published latency values of the CSP evoked using electrical stimulation.Using only the presently generated laser induced CSP data, the CSP duration was longer when analyzed via peristimulus frequencygram method compared to the probability-based methods such as peristimulus time histogram and surface electromyogram.In the light of the current results, we suggest that laser stimulation could be used when studying pain pathways in human subjects and the frequency-based analysis methods can be preferred because they are previously shown to be more reliable for obtaining the synaptic activity profile. These results can be used to standardize the CSP methods in basic and clinical research.     

A comparison of the mechanical properties of the first dorsal interosseous in the dominant and non-dominant hand

The electrically evoked and voluntary contractile properties of the first dorsal interosseous muscle were measured on both hands in 10 healthy adults. The force of abduction of the index finger interosseous muscle was measured using a transducer resting against the lateral side of the proximal interphalangeal joint. The mean values of time to peak tension measured on the dominant hands were significantly slower than the values on the non-dominant hands (P less than 0.01) in a paired t-test. Maximal tetanic tension, maximal voluntary contraction strength, and maximal twitch tension are not significantly different. Fatigue indices on the dominant hands in each subject were higher than those on the non-dominant hands. The correlation coefficient between fatigue indices on the dominant and the non-dominant hand was 0.92 (P less than 0.01).     

Constituents of human muscle in isometric fatigue.

Three subjects performed five successive isometric contractions to fatigue; the tension in any one experiment was constant at tensions varying from 20 to 80% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). The interval between contractions was held constant at 11 min. Muscle biopsy specimens were obtained at the start of the experiment, after the first, fourth, and fifth, and before the second and fifth of the successive contractions. The concentrations of ATP, CP, glycogen, and lactate were measured in each sample of muscle. Changes in ATP and glycogen were insufficient to be held accountable for the development of isometric fatigue. Changes in CP and lactate were large after fatigue at intermediate tensions, but those of CP were considered unlikely to be responsible for the fatigue. At tensions of 30-50% MVC the increase in lactate could be responsible for fatigue either directly or by indirect changes in pH; at higher and lower tensions the possibility that lactate is directly implicated in the development of fatigue seems remote.     

Effects of muscle activation on fatigue and metabolism in human skeletal muscle.

Increasing stimulation frequency has been shown to increase fatigue but not when the changes in force associated with changes in frequency have been controlled. An effect of frequency, independent of force, may be associated with the metabolic cost resulting from the additional activations. Here, two separate experiments were performed on human medial gastrocnemius muscles. The first experiment (n = 8) was designed to test the effect of the number of pulses on fatigue. The declines in force during two repetitive, 150-train stimulation protocols that produced equal initial forces, one using 80-Hz trains and the other using 100-Hz trains, were compared. Despite a difference of 600 pulses (23.5%), the protocols produced similar rates and amounts of fatigue. In the second experiment, designed to test the effect of the number of pulses on the metabolic cost of contraction, 31P-NMR spectra were collected (n = 6) during two ischemic, eight-train stimulation protocols (80- and 100-Hz) that produced comparable forces despite a difference of 320 pulses (24.8%). No differences were found in the changes in P(i) concentration, phosphocreatine concentration, and intracellular pH or in the ATP turnover produced by the two trains. These results suggest that the effect of stimulation frequency on fatigue is related to the force produced, rather than to the number of activations. In addition, within the range of frequencies tested, increasing total activations did not increase metabolic cost.     

The frequency of alternate muscle activity is associated with the attenuation in muscle fatigue.

Alternate muscle activity between synergist muscles has been demonstrated during low-level sustained contractions [< or =5% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) force]. To determine the functional significance of the alternate muscle activity, the association between the frequency of alternate muscle activity during a low-level sustained knee extension and the reduction in knee extension MVC force was studied. Forty-one healthy subjects performed a sustained knee extension at 2.5% MVC force for 1 h. Before and after the sustained knee extension, MVC force was measured. The surface electromyogram was recorded from the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), and vastus medialis (VM) muscles. The frequency of alternate muscle activity for RF-VL, RF-VM, and VL-VM pairs was determined during the sustained contraction. The frequency of alternate muscle activity ranged from 4 to 11 times/h for RF-VL (7.0 +/- 2.0 times/h) and RF-VM (7.0 +/- 1.9 times/h) pairs, but it was only 0 to 2 times/h for the VL-VM pair (0.5 +/- 0.7 times/h). MVC force after the sustained contraction decreased by 14% (P < 0.01) from 573.6 +/- 145.2 N to 483.3 +/- 130.5 N. The amount of reduction in MVC force was negatively correlated with the frequency of alternate muscle activity for the RF-VL and RF-VM pairs (P < 0.001 and r = 0.65 for both) but not for the VL-VM pair. The results demonstrate that subjects with more frequent alternate muscle activity experience less muscle fatigue. We conclude that the alternate muscle activity between synergist muscles attenuates muscle fatigue.     

Acoustic myography for investigating human skeletal muscle fatigue.

Sounds produced during voluntary isometric contractions of the quadriceps muscle were studied by acoustic myography (AMG) in five healthy adults. With the subject seated, isometric force, surface electromyography (EMG), and AMG were recorded over rectus femoris, and the EMG and AMG signals were integrated (IEMG and IAMG). Contractions lasting 5 s each were performed at 10, 25, 50, 60, 75, and 100% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) force. Fatigue was then induced by repeated voluntary contractions (10 s on, 10 s off) at 75% MVC until only 40% MVC could be sustained. After 15 min of rest, the different force levels were again tested in relation to the fresh MVC. Both before and after fatiguing activity the relationships between force and IEMG [r = 0.99 +/- 0.01 (SD), n = 10] and force and IAMG (r = 0.98 +/- 0.02) were linear. After activity, however, the slopes of the regression lines for force and IEMG increased (P less than 0.01) but those for force and IAMG remained the same (P greater than 0.05). The present results clarify the relationship between AMG and isometric force in fatigued muscle without the problem of fatigue-induced tremor, which hampered previous studies of prolonged activity. This study contributes to the validation of AMG and shows that it is a potentially useful method for noninvasive assessment of force production and fatigue. Further studies to establish the origin of AMG activity are required before AMG can be accepted for use in neuromuscular physiology or rehabilitation.     

Contralateral activity in a homologous hand muscle during voluntary contractions is greater in old adults.

This study compared the amount of contralateral activity produced in a homologous muscle by young (18-32 yr) and old (66-80 yr) adults when they performed unilateral isometric and anisometric contractions with a hand muscle. The subjects were not aware that the focus of the study was the contralateral activity. The tasks involved the performance of brief isometric contractions to six target forces, slowly lifting and lowering six inertial loads, and completing a set of 10 repetitions with a heavy load. The unintended force exerted by the contralateral muscle during the isometric contractions increased with target force, but the average force was greater for the old adults (means +/- SD; 12.6 +/- 15.3%) compared with the young adults (6.91 +/- 11.1%). The contralateral activity also increased with load during the anisometric contractions, and the average contralateral force was greater for the old subjects (5.28 +/- 6.29%) compared with the young subjects (2.10 +/- 3.19%). Furthermore, the average contralateral force for both groups of subjects was greater during the eccentric contractions (4.17 +/- 5.24%) compared with the concentric contractions (3.20 +/- 5.20%). The rate of change in contralateral activity during the fatigue task also differed between the two groups of subjects. The results indicate that old subjects have a reduced ability to suppress unintended contralateral activity during the performance of goal-directed, unilateral tasks.     

Effect of low frequency fatigue on human muscle strength and fatigability during subsequent stimulated activity

Fatiguing contractions of the adductor pollicis muscle were produced by intermittent supramaximal stimulation of the ulnar nerve in a set frequency pattern, in six normal subjects. At the end of an initial fatiguing contraction series, low frequency fatigue (LFF) had been induced and persisted at 15 min of recovery. Stimulated fatiguing activity was then repeated in an identical fashion to the initial series. At high frequencies, declines in force were similar for both series. At low frequencies, declines in force were greater during the second series despite similar changes in compound muscle action potential amplitude. This confirmation that LFF persists during subsequent stimulated activity, and reduces low but not high frequency fatigue resistance, suggests that the impaired endurance of fatigued muscle during voluntary activity primarily results from peripheral changes at low frequency. These findings also have implications for therapeutic electrical stimulation of muscle.     

Effects of activation frequency and force on low-frequency fatigue in human skeletal muscle.

No comparison of the amount of low-frequency fatigue (LFF) produced by different activation frequencies exists, although frequencies ranging from 10 to 100 Hz have been used to induce LFF. The quadriceps femoris of 11 healthy subjects were tested in 5 separate sessions. In each session, the force-generating ability of the muscle was tested before and after fatigue and at 2, approximately 13, and approximately 38 min of recovery. Brief (6-pulse), constant-frequency trains of 9.1, 14.3, 33.3, and 100 Hz and a 6-pulse, variable-frequency train with a mean frequency of 14.3 Hz were delivered at 1 train/s to induce fatigue. Immediately postfatigue, there was a significant effect of fatiguing protocol frequency. Muscles exhibited greater LFF after stimulation with the 9.1-, 14.3-, and variable-frequency trains. These three trains also produced the greatest mean force-time integrals during the fatigue test. At 2, approximately 13, and approximately 38 min of recovery, however, the LFF produced was independent of the fatiguing protocol frequency. The findings are consistent with theories suggesting two independent mechanisms behind LFF and may help identify the optimal activation pattern when functional electrical stimulation is used.     

Membrane proteins involved in potassium shifts during muscle activity and fatigue

Muscle activity is associated with potassium displacements, which may cause fatigue. It was reported previously that the density of the large-conductance Ca2+-dependent K+ (BK(Ca)) channel is higher in the T tubule membrane than in the sarcolemmal membrane and that the opposite is the case for the ATP-sensitive K+ (K(ATP)) channel. In the present experiments, we investigated the subcellular localizations of the strong inward rectifier 2.1 K+ (Kir2.1) channel and the Na+-K+-2Cl- (NKCC)1 cotransporter with Western blot analysis of different muscle fractions. Furthermore, muscle function was studied while trying to manipulate the opening probability or transport capacity of these proteins during electrical stimulation of isolated soleus muscles. All experiments were made with excised muscle from male Wistar rats. Kir2.1 channels were almost undetectable in the sarcolemmal membrane but present in the T tubule membrane, whereas NKCC1 cotransporters were present in the sarcolemmal membrane. For muscles incubated in a buffer containing pinacidil, NS1619, Ba2+, or bumetanide, there was a faster reduction in peak force (P < 0.05). Furthermore, bumetanide incubation reduced the peak force at the onset of electrical stimulation (P < 0.05). Thus the effects on muscle force indicate that these drugs can affect K+-transporting proteins and thereby influence K+ accumulation, especially in the T tubules, suggesting that K(ATP) and BK(Ca) channels are responsible for K+ release and decrease in force during repeated muscle contractions, whereas Kir2.1 and NKCC1 may have a role in K+ reuptake.     

Neurobiology of muscle fatigue.

Muscle fatigue encompasses a class of acute effects that impair motor performance. The mechanisms that can produce fatigue involve all elements of the motor system, from a failure of the formulation of the descending drive provided by suprasegmental centers to a reduction in the activity of the contractile proteins. We propose four themes that provide a basis for the systematic evaluation of the neural and neuromuscular fatigue mechanisms: 1) task dependency to identify the conditions that activate the various mechanisms; 2) force-fatigability relationship to explore the interaction between the mechanisms that results in a hyperbolic relationship between force and endurance time; 3) muscle wisdom to examine the association among a concurrent decline in force, relaxation rate, and motor neuron discharge that results in an optimization of force; and 4) sense of effort to determine the role of effort in the impairment of performance. On the basis of this perspective with an emphasis on neural mechanisms, we suggest a number of experiments to advance our understanding of the neurobiology of muscle fatigue.