Interrelationship of neural and contractile properties in control of muscle force in humans

这项研究计划将集中于确定和了解关键的神经和肌肉因素以及它们在肌肉力量产生和控制中的相互作用。通过研究人类，我们将提供这一领域的重要信息，这些信息既适用于基础系统生理学，也适用于应用生理学。我们的核心技术和专业知识使我们能够专注于在人类运动的产生和控制过程中脊髓神经驱动和肌肉收缩特征之间的相互关系。我们的实验利用最先进的体表和留置针肌电描记术(EMG)来评估受控自愿活动期间的神经输出，并结合来自不同肢体肌肉的电刺激和自愿收缩反应的等长和动态测量。未来几年的主要目标是将这些想法扩展到更自然的动态运动，而不是传统的实验室环境中使用的静态测量。我们将通过研究急性(疲劳、增强)和慢性适应状态(衰老、训练)作为模型来实现这些目标，以给系统施加压力，以探索在运动输出的产生和控制中重要的关键潜在因素。为了帮助我们，我们将结合几种新的非侵入性或微侵入性技术，这些技术将提供补充信息，从中将获得对神经肌肉系统的综合了解。从这些研究模型(适应状态)获得的结果可能有助于提供有关正常生理机制的重要信息。然后，这些想法可以被其他人应用或翻译，以提高我们对人类神经肌肉功能在健康和疾病中的理解。

This research program will focus on determining and understanding key nervous and muscle factors and their interactions in the generation and control of muscle force. By studying humans we will provide important information in this field that is applicable to both fundamental systems physiology and applied physiology. Our core techniques and expertise allow us to focus uniquely on the interrelationship between spinal neural drive and muscle contractile characteristics during the generation and control of human movement. Our experiments utilize state-of-the-art surface and indwelling needle electromyography (EMG) to assess neural output during controlled voluntary activities in combination with isometric and dynamic measures of electrically elicited and voluntary contractile responses from various limb muscles. A main objective in the next several years is to extend these ideas to dynamic movements that are more natural rather than static measures traditionally used in a laboratory setting. We will accomplish these goals by studying acute (fatigue, potentiation) and chronic adapted states (aging, training) as models to stress the system to explore key underlying factors important in the generation and control of motor output. To help us we will incorporate several novel non-invasive or minimally invasive techniques that will provide complementary information from which an integrative understanding of the neuromuscular system will be gained. Findings obtained from these models of study (adapted states) can be instrumental in providing important information about normal physiologic mechanisms. These ideas can then be applied or translated by others to improve our understanding of human neuromuscular function in health and disease.