Muscle contractile properties directly influence shared synaptic inputs to spinal motor neurons

H. V. Cabral, J Greig Inglis, Alessandro Cudicio, COGLIATI Marta, Claudio Orizio, Utku S. Yavuz, Francesco Negro*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
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Abstract

Alpha band oscillations in shared synaptic inputs to the alpha motor neuron pool can be considered an involuntary source of noise that hinders precise voluntary force production. This study investigated the impact of changing muscle length on the shared synaptic oscillations to spinal motor neurons, particularly in the physiological tremor band. Fourteen healthy individuals performed low-level dorsiflexion contractions at ankle joint angles of 90° and 130°, while high-density surface electromyography (HDsEMG) was recorded from the tibialis anterior (TA). We decomposed the HDsEMG into motor units spike trains and calculated the motor units’ coherence within the delta (1–5 Hz), alpha (5–15 Hz), and beta (15–35 Hz) bands. Additionally, force steadiness and force spectral power within the tremor band were quantified. Results showed no significant differences in force steadiness between 90° and 130°. In contrast, alpha band oscillations in both synaptic inputs and force output decreased as the length of the TA was moved from shorter (90°) to longer (130°), with no changes in delta and beta bands. In a second set of experiments (10 participants), evoked twitches were recorded with the ankle joint at 90° and 130°, revealing longer twitch durations in the longer TA muscle length condition compared to the shorter. These experimental results, supported by a simple computational simulation, suggest that increasing muscle length enhances the muscle's low-pass filtering properties, influencing the oscillations generated by the Ia afferent feedback loop. Therefore, this study provides valuable insights into the interplay between muscle biomechanics and neural oscillations.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2855-2872
Number of pages18
JournalThe Journal of Physiology
Volume602
Issue number12
Early online date6 May 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2024

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