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Neuro-Physiological Adaptations Associated with Cross-Education of Strength

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Abstract

Cross-education of strength is the increase in strength of the untrained contralateral limb after unilateral training of the opposite homologous limb. We investigated central and peripheral neural adaptations associated with cross-education of strength. Twenty-three right-handed females were randomized into a unilateral training group or an imagery group. A sub-sample of eight subjects (four training, four imagery) was assessed with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for patterns of cortical activation during exercise. Strength training was 6 weeks of maximal isometric ulnar deviation of the right arm, four times per week. Peak torque, muscle thickness (ultrasound), agonist–antagonist electromyography (EMG), and fMRI were assessed before and after training. Strength training was highly effective for increasing strength in trained (45.3%; P < 0.01) and untrained (47.1%; P < 0.01) limbs. The imagery group showed no increase in strength for either arm. Muscle thickness increased only in the trained arm of the training group (8.4%; P < 0.001). After training, there was an enlarged region of activation in contralateral sensorimotor cortex and left temporal lobe during muscle contractions with the untrained left arm (P < 0.001). Training was associated with a significantly greater change in agonist muscle EMG pooled over both limbs, compared to the imagery group (P < 0.05). These results suggest that cross-education of strength may be partly controlled by adaptations within sensorimotor cortex, consistent with previous studies of motor learning. However, this research demonstrates the involvement of temporal lobe regions that subserve semantic memory for movement, which has not been previously studied in this context. We argue that temporal lobe regions might play a significant role in the cross-education of strength.

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Acknowledgments

Jonathan Farthing was supported by a graduate scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Gordon Sarty, Ron Borowsky, and Gord Binsted are each supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, which contributed to this research. We acknowledge the technical support of Jennifer Hadley during the MRI scanning procedures and MRI data processing. We acknowledge Heather Whelan and Doug Jacobson for their technical assistance and support for the testing of participants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, S7N 5B2

    Jonathan P. Farthing, Philip D. Chilibeck & Gord Binsted

  2. Cognition and Neuroscience Programs, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Ron Borowsky & Gordon E. Sarty

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  1. Jonathan P. Farthing
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Correspondence to Jonathan P. Farthing.

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Farthing, J.P., Borowsky, R., Chilibeck, P.D. et al. Neuro-Physiological Adaptations Associated with Cross-Education of Strength. Brain Topogr 20, 77–88 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-007-0033-2

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