Michael J. Marsala , David A. Gabriel , J. Greig Inglis , Anita D. Christie
{"title":"How many motor units is enough? An assessment of the influence of the number of motor units on firing rate calculations","authors":"Michael J. Marsala , David A. Gabriel , J. Greig Inglis , Anita D. Christie","doi":"10.1016/j.jelekin.2024.102872","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The number of motor units included in calculations of mean firing rates varies widely in the literature. It is unknown how the number of decomposed motor units included in the calculation of firing rate per participant compares to the total number of active motor units in the muscle, and if this is different for males and females. Bootstrapped distributions and confidence intervals (CI) of mean motor unit firing rates decomposed from the tibialis anterior were used to represent the total number of active motor units for individual participants in trials from 20 to 100 % of maximal voluntary contraction. Bootstrapped distributions of mean firing rates were constructed using different numbers of motor units, from one to the maximum number for each participant, and compared to the CIs. A probability measure for each number of motor units involved in firing rate was calculated and then averaged across all individuals. Motor unit numbers required for similar levels of probability increased as contraction intensity increased (<em>p</em> < 0.001). Increased levels of probability also required higher numbers of motor units (<em>p</em> < 0.001). There was no effect of sex (<em>p</em> ≥ 0.97) for any comparison. This methodology should be repeated in other muscles, and aged populations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":56123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology","volume":"75 ","pages":"Article 102872"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1050641124000166","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The number of motor units included in calculations of mean firing rates varies widely in the literature. It is unknown how the number of decomposed motor units included in the calculation of firing rate per participant compares to the total number of active motor units in the muscle, and if this is different for males and females. Bootstrapped distributions and confidence intervals (CI) of mean motor unit firing rates decomposed from the tibialis anterior were used to represent the total number of active motor units for individual participants in trials from 20 to 100 % of maximal voluntary contraction. Bootstrapped distributions of mean firing rates were constructed using different numbers of motor units, from one to the maximum number for each participant, and compared to the CIs. A probability measure for each number of motor units involved in firing rate was calculated and then averaged across all individuals. Motor unit numbers required for similar levels of probability increased as contraction intensity increased (p < 0.001). Increased levels of probability also required higher numbers of motor units (p < 0.001). There was no effect of sex (p ≥ 0.97) for any comparison. This methodology should be repeated in other muscles, and aged populations.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Electromyography & Kinesiology is the primary source for outstanding original articles on the study of human movement from muscle contraction via its motor units and sensory system to integrated motion through mechanical and electrical detection techniques.
As the official publication of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, the journal is dedicated to publishing the best work in all areas of electromyography and kinesiology, including: control of movement, muscle fatigue, muscle and nerve properties, joint biomechanics and electrical stimulation. Applications in rehabilitation, sports & exercise, motion analysis, ergonomics, alternative & complimentary medicine, measures of human performance and technical articles on electromyographic signal processing are welcome.