Pre-contraction dynamic electrical impedance myography of the forearm finger flexors

Abstract

Electrical activity in the sensory-motor and supplementary motor areas of the cerebral cortex is known to occur during a ‘readiness interval’, extending up to 2 s before the relevant muscle actually contracts. This paper presents evidence that there are also changes in the properties of the muscle itself during a similar preparatory period, as revealed by dynamic electrical impedance myography. 11 healthy subjects aged 23.5 ± 2.5 years were asked to perform a series of isometric gripping exercises during which the force, resistance and reactance of the forearm finger flexor muscles were monitored. A change in reactance, ΔX, or resistance, ΔR, which occurred before the generation of force, ΔF, was dubbed a ‘PIC’, shorthand for precontraction impedance change (subject to criteria to rule out the possibility of simple ‘noise’), of which 1206 qualified in the entire subject cohort. Such PIC’s are statistically well correlated when expressed in terms of differences between PIC and force onset times (r ≈ 0.9, p ≈ 0). This is demonstrated using a variation on the ‘computer of average transients’ method. Precontraction impedance changes (PICs) occurring as much as 2 s before the onset of force generation were found, in qualitative agreement with precontraction EEG activity reported in the literature. Also, a subset of PIC’s was found in which the scaled and time-shifted ΔX(t) was virtually identical to ΔF(t). Since the occurrence and timing of all the PICs depend on oral commands, it is clear that the auditory cortex is likely involved, but the detailed mechanism coupling brain activity with PICs is not known.