Journal article
Imagined muscle contraction training increases voluntary neural drive to muscle
Journal of psychophysiology, Vol.10(3), pp.198-208
01/01/1996
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine changes in-maximal voluntary abduction force of the human fifth finger Following five weeks of training with imagined, maximal contractions of the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle. The metacarpophalangeal joints of the fifth and fourth fingers of the nondominant hand of 10 young subjects were immobilized in a plaster cast For five weeks. Five of the 10 subjects imagined producing 15 maximal abduction contractions with the Fifth finger of the costed hand each day during the immobilization period. The other five subjects (control group) wore the cast and did not participate in any training. The abduction force exerted during maximal voluntary contractions (MVCs) of the fifth finger and the associated integrated electromyograms (EMG) of the ADM muscle were measured before and after immobilization. Cross-sectional area of the costed ADM muscle of three subjects was assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and muscle atrophy occurred in ail three subjects (7, 13, and 22%) after immobilization indicating that the muscle activity was reduced during the immobilization period. The maximal abduction force of the casted fifth finger increased 9.28% on average for the imaginary-trained subjects, despite muscle atrophy, and that For the control subjects decreased by 1.54%. The integrated EMG of the costed ADM muscle during MVCs increased 48.56% (P < 0.05) for the imaginary-trained group and that for the control group decreased by 12.07%. The maximal abduction force and EMG of the contralateral uncasted hand of the imaginary-trained group increased 12.45 and 58.23%, respectively (P < 0.05), after the imagined-contraction training of the ipsilateral hand. These results support previous Findings that voluntary strength increases can be achieved without repeated muscle activation, and that these muscle force gains appear to result from practice effects on central motor commands.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Imagined muscle contraction training increases voluntary neural drive to muscle
- Creators
- G H YueS L WilsonK J ColeW G DarlingWTC Yuh
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of psychophysiology, Vol.10(3), pp.198-208
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- ISSN
- 0269-8803
- Number of pages
- 11
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/1996
- Academic Unit
- Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science; Health and Human Physiology
- Record Identifier
- 9984259403302771
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