Academic Journal
Effect of motor imagery training of dorsiflexor muscles on motor unit behavior.
| Τίτλος: | Effect of motor imagery training of dorsiflexor muscles on motor unit behavior. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Malejac V; Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, Saint-Etienne 42023, France., Lapole T; Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, Saint-Etienne 42023, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France., Bertrand M; Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, Saint-Etienne 42023, France., Amiez N; Université Lyon 1, LIBM, UR, Villeurbanne 7424, France., Di Rienzo F; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France; Université Lyon 1, LIBM, UR, Villeurbanne 7424, France., Guillot A; Université Lyon 1, LIBM, UR, Villeurbanne 7424, France., Rozand V; Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Université Savoie Mont-Blanc, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, Saint-Etienne 42023, France; Université Bourgogne Europe, INSERM, CAPS UMR 1093, Dijon 21000, France. Electronic address: vianney.rozand@u-bourgogne.fr. |
| Πηγή: | Behavioural brain research [Behav Brain Res] 2026 May 28; Vol. 506, pp. 116148. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Mar 06. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 8004872 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1872-7549 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01664328 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Behav Brain Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Muscle, Skeletal*/physiology , Muscle Strength*/physiology , Recruitment, Neurophysiological*/physiology , Motor Neurons*/physiology, Isometric Contraction/physiology ; Humans ; Female ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Electromyography ; Male ; Torque |
| Περίληψη: | Purpose: Motor imagery (MI) training can enhance maximal strength, making it a promising tool for both athletic performance and clinical rehabilitation. Yet, the mechanisms underlying the increase in maximal strength, usually attributed to neural adaptations, remain to be further elucidated. We therefore aimed at investigating whether four weeks of MI training was likely to affect dorsiflexor strength and tibialis anterior motor units (MU) behavior. Methods: Twenty-four healthy adults (12 women; 24.5 ± 3.3 years) were tested at baseline, after a control period (pre-training), and after a 4-week kinesthetic MI training (post-training). Outcomes included maximal voluntary isometric dorsiflexion torque (MVC) as well as MU recruitment and derecruitment thresholds, discharge rates during recruitment, plateau, and derecruitment phases, input-output gain and net discharge-rate changes (ΔDR) recorded from high-density electromyography during submaximal contractions at 35%, 50%, and 70% MVC. Results: At post-training, MVC increased by 7.1 ± 10.7% (p < 0.002) with no baseline to pre-training difference (p = 0.97). Discharge rates at recruitment (p = 0.06), plateau (p = 0.76), and derecruitment (p = 0.88) were not affected by MI training. Recruitment (p < 0.001), but not derecruitment thresholds, rose post-training. Input-output gain was stable (p = 0.36), and ΔDR increased only at 70% MVC between baseline and post-training (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Four weeks of MI training increased force without any change in MU discharge rate and intrinsic MU properties, yet with increased recruitment threshold of MUs. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Hd-EMG; Motor imagery; Motor neuron; Neural adaptations; Strength gain |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260307 Date Completed: 20260710 Latest Revision: 20260710 |
| Update Code: | 20260711 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.bbr.2026.116148 |
| PMID: | 41794141 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1872-7549 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.bbr.2026.116148 |