Different discrete motor-unit activation patterns in the flexor carpi radialis in boys and men.

Stacey Woods, Andrew McKiel, Trent Herda, Panagiota Klentrou, Michael W R Holmes, David A Gabriel, Bareket Falk

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Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

A question of rate? Girl-women differences in motor unit firing rate.European journal of applied physiology · 2026
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Authors and funding

7 authors.

Stacey WoodsDepartment of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.

Andrew McKielDepartment of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.

Trent HerdaSchool of Education and Human Sciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.

Panagiota KlentrouDepartment of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0328-5198

Michael W R HolmesDepartment of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.

David A GabrielDepartment of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.

Bareket FalkDepartment of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada. bfalk@brocku.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7105-0185

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2020-05952

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLower activation of higher threshold (type-II) motor units (MUs) has been suggested in children compared with adults. We examined child-adult differences in discrete MU activation of the flexor carpi radialis (FCR).

methodsFifteen boys (10.2 ± 1.4 years), and 17 men (25.0 ± 2.7 years) completed 2 laboratory sessions. Following a habituation session, maximal voluntary isometric wrist flexion torque (MVIC) was determined before completing trapezoidal isometric contractions at 70%MVIC. Surface electromyography was captured by Delsys Trigno Galileo sensors and decomposed into individual MU action potential trains. Recruitment threshold (RT), and MU firing rates (MUFR) were calculated.

resultsMVIC was significantly greater in men (10.19 ± 1.92 Nm) than in boys (4.33 ± 1.47 Nm) (p < 0.05), but not statistically different after accounting for differences in body size. Mean MUFR was not different between boys (17.41 ± 7.83 pps) and men (17.47 ± 7.64 pps). However, the MUFR-RT slope was significantly (p < 0.05) steeper (more negative) in boys, reflecting a progressively greater decrease in MUFR with increasing RT. Additionally, boys recruited more of their MUs early in the ramped contraction.

conclusionCompared with men, boys tended to recruit their MUs earlier and at a lower percentage of MVIC. This difference in MU recruitment may explain the greater decrease in MUFR with increasing RT in boys compared with men. Overall, these findings suggest an age-related difference in the neural strategy used to develop moderate-high torque in wrist flexors, where boys recruit more of their MUs earlier in the force gradation process, possibly resulting in a narrower recruitment range.

Indexed as

Isometric ContractionMuscle, SkeletalRecruitment, NeurophysiologicalAdultChildElectromyographyHumansMaleMotor NeuronsTorqueChildrenEMG decompositionExerciseMaturityMuscleStrength

Identifiers

PMID38285213

DOI10.1007/s00421-024-05417-2

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.