Response to letter: Preventing age-related motor unit loss: Is exercise the answer?

2022 ◽  
pp. 111696
Author(s):  
Matti D. Allen ◽  
Brian H. Dalton ◽  
Kevin J. Gilmore ◽  
Chris J. McNeil ◽  
Timothy J. Doherty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Age Related

Motor unit firing rates during constant isometric contraction: establishing and comparing an age-related pattern among muscles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Kirk ◽  
Anita D. Christie ◽  
Christopher A. Knight ◽  
Charles L. Rice
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Unit ◽  
Isometric Contraction ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Motor Unit Firing ◽  
Euclidean Distances ◽  
Intramuscular Electromyography ◽  
Related Pattern ◽  
Variance Explained

Motor unit (MU) firing rate (FR) frequency is lower in aged adults, compared with young, at relative voluntary contraction intensities. However, from a variety of independent studies of disparate muscles, the age-related degree of difference in FR among muscles is unclear. Using a standardized statistical approach with data derived from primary studies, we quantified differences in FRs across several muscles between younger and older adults. The dataset included 12 different muscles in young (18-35) and older adults (62-93 years) from 18 published and one unpublished study. Experiments recorded single MU activity from intramuscular electromyography during constant isometric contraction at different (step-like) voluntary intensities. For each muscle, FR ranges and FR variance explained by voluntary contraction intensity were determined using bootstrapping. Dissimilarity of FR variance among muscles was calculated by Euclidean distances. There were 3-fold differences in the absolute frequency of FR ranges across muscles in the young (soleus 8-16 and superior trapezius 20-49 Hz), but in the old, FR ranges were more similar and lower for 9 out of 12 muscles. In contrast, the explained FR variance from voluntary contraction intensity in the older group had 1.6-fold greater dissimilarity among muscles than the young (p < 0.001), with FR variance differences being muscle dependent. Therefore, differences between muscle FR ranges were not explained by how FRs scale to changes in voluntary contraction intensity within each muscle. Instead, FRs were muscle dependent but were more dissimilar among muscles in the older group in their responsiveness to voluntary contraction intensity.

P12-20 Age-related changes in motor unit number estimates in adult patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1A

2010 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. S176
Author(s):  
J.P. van Dijk ◽  
C. Verhamme ◽  
I.N. van Schaik ◽  
H.J. Schelhaas ◽  
E. Mans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Adult Patients ◽  
Charcot Marie Tooth ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Tooth Type ◽  
Age Related Changes

scholarly journals Neuromuscular changes of the aged human hamstrings

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 480-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Kirk ◽  
Kevin J. Gilmore ◽  
Charles L. Rice
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Contractile Function ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Biceps Femoris ◽  
Surface Emg ◽  
Muscle Group ◽  
Voluntary Activation ◽  
Discharge Rates ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Motor Unit Discharge

Despite the life-long importance for posture and locomotion, neuromuscular properties of the hamstrings muscle have not been explored with adult aging. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare age-related effects on contractile function, spinal motor neuron output expressed as motor unit (MU) discharge rates in the hamstrings of 11 young (26 ± 4 yr) and 10 old (80 ± 5 yr) men. Maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC), stimulated contractile properties, and surface and intramuscular electromyography (EMG) from submaximal to MVC were recorded in the biceps femoris (BF) and semimembranosus-semitendinosus (SS) muscles. MVC torque was ~50% less in the old with both age groups attaining ≥93% mean voluntary activation. Evoked twitches in the old were ~50% lower in amplitude and >150% longer in duration compared with those in the young. At successive voluntary contractions of 25, 50, and 100% MVC, MU discharge rates were up to 45% lower in old, with no differences in relative submaximal surface EMG between age groups. Furthermore, the old had significantly lower MU discharge rates in the SS at all contraction intensities compared with the BF muscle. Men in their 8th to 10th decades of life demonstrate substantially lower strength and MU discharge rates in this functionally important large lower limb muscle group, with greater age-related effect on discharge rates in the medial hamstrings. These findings, compared with those in other muscles studied, highlight that the neuromuscular properties of limb muscles, and indeed within functionally similar portions of a muscle group, are not all affected equally by the aging process. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In the hamstrings, we found that both contractile function and motor unit discharge rates across the range of voluntary intensities were lower in the old. The differences in discharge rates due to age were greater in the medial hamstrings muscle group compared with the lateral hamstrings. Compared with previous studies, these results highlight that not all muscles are affected equally by aging and there may be compartmental differences within functionally similar muscles.

scholarly journals Effects of aging and Parkinson’s disease on motor unit remodeling: influence of resistance exercise training

2018 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 888-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil A. Kelly ◽  
Kelley G. Hammond ◽  
C. Scott Bickel ◽  
Samuel T. Windham ◽  
S. Craig Tuggle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Exercise Training ◽  
Neuromuscular Junction ◽  
Resistance Exercise ◽  
Motor Unit ◽  
Type I ◽  
Resistance Exercise Training ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Myofiber Type

Aging muscle atrophy is in part a neurodegenerative process revealed by denervation/reinnervation events leading to motor unit remodeling (i.e., myofiber type grouping). However, this process and its physiological relevance are poorly understood, as is the wide-ranging heterogeneity among aging humans. Here, we attempted to address 1) the relation between myofiber type grouping and molecular regulators of neuromuscular junction (NMJ) stability; 2) the impact of motor unit remodeling on recruitment during submaximal contractions; 3) the prevalence and impact of motor unit remodeling in Parkinson’s disease (PD), an age-related neurodegenerative disease; and 4) the influence of resistance exercise training (RT) on regulators of motor unit remodeling. We compared type I myofiber grouping, molecular regulators of NMJ stability, and the relative motor unit activation (MUA) requirement during a submaximal sit-to-stand task among untrained but otherwise healthy young (YA; 26 yr, n = 27) and older (OA; 66 yr, n = 91) adults and OA with PD (PD; 67 yr, n = 19). We tested the effects of RT on these outcomes in OA and PD. PD displayed more motor unit remodeling, alterations in NMJ stability regulation, and a higher relative MUA requirement than OA, suggesting PD-specific effects. The molecular and physiological outcomes tracked with the severity of type I myofiber grouping. Together these findings suggest that age-related motor unit remodeling, manifested by type I myofiber grouping, 1) reduces MUA efficiency to meet submaximal contraction demand, 2) is associated with disruptions in NMJ stability, 3) is further impacted by PD, and 4) may be improved by RT in severe cases. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Because the physiological consequences of varying amounts of myofiber type grouping are unknown, the current study aims to characterize the molecular and physiological correlates of motor unit remodeling. Furthermore, because exercise training has demonstrated neuromuscular benefits in aged humans and improved innervation status and neuromuscular junction integrity in animals, we provide an exploratory analysis of the effects of high-intensity resistance training on markers of neuromuscular degeneration in both Parkinson’s disease (PD) and age-matched older adults.

Effects of Aging on Motor-Unit Control Properties

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 2081-2091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Erim ◽  
M. Faisal Beg ◽  
David T. Burke ◽  
Carlo J. de Luca
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Motor Unit ◽  
Motor Units ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Compensatory Mechanism ◽  
Type I ◽  
Firing Behavior ◽  
Firing Rates ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Young Subjects

It was hypothesized that the age-related alterations in the morphological properties of a motor unit would be accompanied by modifications in the control aspects of the motor unit, as either an adaptive or compensatory mechanism to preserve smooth force production. In specific, the objective of the study was to investigate the age-related alterations in the concurrent firing behavior of multiple motor units in the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle in isometric contractions at 20 and 50% of the subject's voluntary contraction level. Analysis of the data collected from 10 young (24–37 yr of age) and 10 elderly (65–88 yr of age) subjects led to three novel observations regarding the firing behavior of aged motor units. 1) Among elderly subjects, there is a decrease in the common fluctuations that are observed among the firing rates of motor units in the young. 2) The relationship observed between the firing rate and recruitment threshold of young subjects is disturbed in the elderly. Although in young subjects, at any point in a given submaximal contraction, earlier recruited motor units have higher firing rates than later-recruited units; in aged subjects this dependency of firing rate on recruitment rank is compromised. 3) The progressive decrease observed in the firing rates of concurrently active motor units in constant-force contractions in the young is not seen in the aged. In addition to these original findings, this study provided support for earlier reports of 1) decreased average firing rates probably reflecting the slowing of the muscle, 2) a shift in recruitment thresholds toward lower force levels in line with the shift toward type I fibers, and 3) multiphasic action potential shapes indicative of the reinnervation process that takes place during aging. Taken as a whole, these findings indicate significant age-related modifications in the control properties of human motor units.

scholarly journals The aging neuromuscular system and motor performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 982-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra K. Hunter ◽  
Hugo M. Pereira ◽  
Kevin G. Keenan
Keyword(s):  
Motor Unit ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Neuromuscular Junctions ◽  
Myosin Heavy Chain Isoforms ◽  
Motor Unit Action Potential ◽  
Neuromuscular System ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Related Changes

Age-related changes in the basic functional unit of the neuromuscular system, the motor unit, and its neural inputs have a profound effect on motor function, especially among the expanding number of old (older than ∼60 yr) and very old (older than ∼80 yr) adults. This review presents evidence that age-related changes in motor unit morphology and properties lead to impaired motor performance that includes 1) reduced maximal strength and power, slower contractile velocity, and increased fatigability; and 2) increased variability during and between motor tasks, including decreased force steadiness and increased variability of contraction velocity and torque over repeat contractions. The age-related increase in variability of motor performance with aging appears to involve reduced and more variable synaptic inputs that drive motor neuron activation, fewer and larger motor units, less stable neuromuscular junctions, lower and more variable motor unit action potential discharge rates, and smaller and slower skeletal muscle fibers that coexpress different myosin heavy chain isoforms in the muscle of older adults. Physical activity may modify motor unit properties and function in old men and women, although the effects on variability of motor performance are largely unknown. Many studies are of cross-sectional design, so there is a tremendous opportunity to perform high-impact and longitudinal studies along the continuum of aging that determine 1) the influence and cause of the increased variability with aging on functional performance tasks, and 2) whether lifestyle factors such as physical exercise can minimize this age-related variability in motor performance in the rapidly expanding numbers of very old adults.

scholarly journals Motor-Unit Coherence During Isometric Contractions Is Greater in a Hand Muscle of Older Adults

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 1346-1349 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Semmler ◽  
Kurt W. Kornatz ◽  
Roger M. Enoka
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Motor Unit ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Common Input ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Old Adults ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Motor Unit Synchronization ◽  
Young Subjects ◽  
Using Data

The purpose of this study was to quantify the strength of motor-unit coherence from the first dorsal interosseus muscle in young and old adults using data obtained in a previous study, where no differences in motor-unit synchronization between the two groups were observed. The strength of motor-unit coherence was quantified from 47 motor-unit pairs in 11 young adults (age 24.1 ± 4.1 yrs) and from 48 motor-unit pairs in 14 old adults (age 70.4 ± 5.9 yrs). The strength of motor-unit coherence was greater in old adults, particularly at low frequencies of 5–9 Hz (85% greater in old adults at 5 Hz). In addition, the older adults expressed an extra oscillation at approximately 12–13 Hz that was not present in the young subjects. These data demonstrate that common oscillatory inputs to motor neurons (motor-unit coherence) are enhanced in older adults despite no age-related difference in the strength of shared inputs (synchronization). Furthermore, the data emphasize that measures of motor-unit synchronization and coherence highlight different features of the same common input, and a coherence analysis may be a more sensitive tool to characterize shared input to motor neurons.

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