Changes of the average muscle fiber conduction velocity during a varying force contraction

Abstract

The average conduction velocity of muscle fibers measured with a surface electrode has been reported to increase with the level of contraction force. To clarify the factors causing this increase, the authors decomposed the interference surface EMG signal into its constituent motor unit action potentials and compared the average conduction velocity with the conduction velocity measured at the individual discharges of motor units. The conduction velocity within individual motor units increased with the contraction force and contributed to the increase of the average conduction velocity. However, the increase of the conduction velocity within motor units was relatively small and was insufficient to cause the increase of the average conduction velocity. This result indicates that the motor units recruited at higher thresholds of force should have higher conduction velocities.