Neural and muscular determinants of maximal rate of force development
Dideriksen JL, Del Vecchio A, Farina D (2020)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2020
Journal
Book Volume: 123
Pages Range: 149-157
Journal Issue: 1
Abstract
The ability to produce rapid forces requires quick motor unit recruitment, high motor unit discharge rates, and fast motor unit force twitches. The relative importance of these parameters for maximum rate of force development (RFD), however, is poorly understood. In this study, we systematically investigated these relationships using a computational model of motor unit pool activity and force. Across simulations, neural and muscular properties were systematically varied in experimentally observed ranges. Motor units were recruited over an interval starting from contraction onset (range: 22-233 ms). Upon recruitment, discharge rates declined from an initial rate (range: 89 -212 pulses per second), with varying likelihood of doublet (interspike interval of 3 ms; range: 0 -50%). Finally, muscular adaptations were modeled by changing average twitch contraction time (range: 42-78 ms). Spectral analysis showed that the effective neural drive to the simulated muscle had smaller bandwidths than the average motor unit twitch, indicating that the bandwidth of the motor output, and thus the capacity for explosive force, was limited mainly by neural properties. The simulated RFD increased by 1,050 ±281% maximal voluntary contraction force per second from the longest to the shortest recruitment interval. This effect was more than fourfold higher than the effect of increasing the initial discharge rate, more than fivefold higher than the effect of increasing the chance of doublets, and more than sixfold higher than the effect of decreasing twitch contraction times. The simulated results suggest that the physiological variation of the rate by which motor units are recruited during ballistic contractions is the main determinant for the variability in RFD across individuals.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Imperial College London / The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
United Kingdom (GB)
Aalborg University
Denmark (DK)
United Kingdom (GB)
Aalborg University
Denmark (DK)
How to cite
APA:
Dideriksen, J.L., Del Vecchio, A., & Farina, D. (2020). Neural and muscular determinants of maximal rate of force development. Journal of Neurophysiology, 123(1), 149-157. https://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.00330.2019
MLA:
Dideriksen, Jakob L., Alessandro Del Vecchio, and Dario Farina. "Neural and muscular determinants of maximal rate of force development." Journal of Neurophysiology 123.1 (2020): 149-157.
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