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J Neurophysiol 90: 1346-1349, 2003; doi:10.1152/jn.00941.2002
0022-3077/03 $5.00
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Motor-Unit Coherence During Isometric Contractions Is Greater in a Hand Muscle of Older Adults

John G. Semmler1, Kurt W. Kornatz2 and Roger M. Enoka2

1 School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, 3125 Victoria, Australia; 2 Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309

Submitted 22 October 2002; accepted in final form 27 March 2003

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.


Address for reprint requests: J. G. Semmler, School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125 Victoria, Australia (E-mail: semmler{at}deakin.edu.au).




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