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Bilateral motor unit synchronization is functionally organized

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Abstract

To elucidate the neural interactions underlying bimanual coordination, we investigated in 11 participants the bilateral coupling of homologous muscles in an isometric force production task involving fatiguing elbow flexion and extension. We focused on changes in motor unit (MU) synchronization as evident in EMG recordings of relevant muscles. In contrast to a related study on leg muscles, the arm muscles did not exhibit MU synchronization around 16 Hz, consistent with our hypothesis that 16 Hz MU synchronization is linked to balance maintenance. As expected, bilateral MU synchronization was apparent between 8 and 12 Hz and increased with fatigue and more strongly so for extensor than for flexor muscles. MU synchronization in that frequency band is interpreted in terms of common bilateral input and substantiates the idea that common input is functionally organized. Since these findings are consistent with the literature on mirror movements, they suggest that both phenomena may be related.

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Notes

  1. Recall that PCA modes yield eigenvector coefficients that signify the strength of these frequency components in the original spectra of different condition and thus allow for a comparison between conditions.

  2. The original coherence spectra can be reconstructed by multiplying the projection of each mode with the coefficients of the eigenvector.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported financially by the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO grants #051.02.050 and #452-04-344).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    T. W. Boonstra, A. Daffertshofer, E. van As, S. van der Vlugt & P. J. Beek

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  1. T. W. Boonstra
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  2. A. Daffertshofer
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  3. E. van As
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  4. S. van der Vlugt
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  5. P. J. Beek
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Correspondence to T. W. Boonstra.

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Boonstra, T.W., Daffertshofer, A., van As, E. et al. Bilateral motor unit synchronization is functionally organized. Exp Brain Res 178, 79–88 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0713-2

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