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Properties of motor unit action potentials recorded with concentric and monopolar needle electrodes: ADEMG analysis
Author(s) -
Howard Jane E.,
McGill Kevin C.,
Dorfman Leslie J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880111007
Subject(s) - isometric exercise , motor unit , concentric , electromyography , biceps , mathematics , biomedical engineering , anatomy , medicine , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , geometry
We compared the configurational and firing properties of 7270 motor unit action potentials (MUAPs) recorded with either concentric (CNE) or monopolar (MNE) needle electrodes from the brachial biceps and anterior tibial muscles of 10 healthy young adults (mean age 27 ± 4.5 years) using automatic decomposition electromyography (ADEMG). In both muscles, mean MUAP amplitude, rise rate, and number of turns were significantly greater when recorded with MNE (paired t ‐test, P < 0.001 in each case). Similar findings were observed at all three tested levels of isometric contractile force: threshold, 10% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), and 30% MVC. In contrast, there was no significant difference between electrode types on measurements of mean MUAP duration or firing rate ( P > 0.05 in each case). These findings indicate that it is acceptable to generalize normative data on MUAP duration and firing rate from one electrode type to another, but that measures of MUAP amplitude and complexity require independent normative databases.