Noninvasive brain stimulation enhances sustained muscle contractions by reducing neuromuscular fatigue: implications for rehabilitation

Neuromuscular fatigue is due, in part, to central processes that involve failure of the nervous system to drive muscles maximally during exercise. A recent study by Abdelmoula, Baudry, and Duchateau ( Neuroscience 322: 94–103, 2016) showed that noninvasive brain stimulation can mitigate neuromuscular fatigue, however, does not rely on enhanced corticospinal excitability of the primary motor cortex. These findings are of high clinical importance because rehabilitative therapies are necessary to mitigate neuromuscular fatigue for patients with central nervous system disorders.