Sheng Li

Ikeda, ER, Borg, A, Brown, D, Malouf, J, Showers, KM, and Li, S. The Valsalva maneuver revisited: the influence of voluntary breathing on isometric muscle strength. J Strength Cond Res 23(1): 127-132, 2009-We assessed the effects of 4 voluntary breathing conditions on maximal voluntary isome

The aims of the present study were to compare matching performance between ipsilateral and contralateral finger force matching tasks and to examine the effect of handedness on finger force perception. Eleven subjects were instructed to produce reference forces by an instructed finger (index—I or little—L finger) and to reproduce the same amount force by the same or a different finger within the hand (i.e., ipsilateral matching task), or by a finger of the other hand (i.e., contralateral matching task). The results of the ipsilateral and contralateral tasks in the present study commonly showed that (1) the reference and matching forces were matched closely when the two forces were produced by the same or homologous finger(s) such as I/I task; (2) the weaker little finger underestimated the magnitude of reference force of the index finger (I/L task), even with the higher level of effort (relative force), but the two forces were matched when considering total finger forces; (3) the stronger index finger closely matched the reference force of the little finger with the lower level of relative force (i.e., L/I task); (4) when considering the constant errors, I/L tasks showed an underestimation and L/I tasks showed an overestimation compared to I/I tasks. There was no handedness effect during ipsilateral tasks. During the contralateral task, the dominant hand overestimated the force of the non-dominant hand, while the non-dominant hand attempted to match the absolute force of the dominant hand. The overall results support the notion that the absolute, rather than relative, finger force is perceived and reproduced during ipsilateral and contralateral finger force matching tasks, indicating the uniqueness of finger force perception.

The effect of fatigue on finger force perception within a hand during ipsilateral finger force matching was examined. Thirteen subjects were instructed to match a reference force of an instructed finger using the same or different finger within the hand before and after index finger fatigue. Absolute reference force targets for the index or little finger were identical during pre- and post-fatigue sessions. Fatigue was induced by a 60-s sustained maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of the index finger. Index finger MVC decreased approximately 29%, while there was a non-significant (about 5%) decrease in the little finger MVC. The results showed that: (1) the absolute reference and matching forces of the instructed fingers were not significantly changed after fatigue, while the total forces (sum of instructed and uninstructed finger forces) were increased after fatigue. (2) The relative forces (with respect to corresponding pre- and post-fatigue MVCs) of the index finger increased significantly in both reference and matching tasks, while the relative forces of the little finger remained unchanged after fatigue. (3) Matching errors remained unchanged after fatigue when the fatigued index finger produced the reference force, while the errors increased significantly when the fatigued index finger produced the matching force. (4) Enslaving (difference between total and instructed finger forces) increased significantly after fatigue, especially during force production by the fatigued index finger and when the little finger produced matching forces at higher force levels. (5) Enslaving significantly increased matching errors particularly after fatigue. Taken together, our results suggest that absolute finger forces within the hand are perceived within the CNS during ipsilateral finger force matching. Perception of absolute forces of the fatigued index finger is not altered after fatigue. The ability of the fatigued index finger to reproduce little finger forces is impaired to a certain degree, however. The impairment is likely to be attributable to altered afferent/efferent relationships of the fatigued index finger.

The effect of muscle fatigue on error compensation strategies during multi-finger ramp force production tasks was investigated. Thirteen young, healthy subjects were instructed to produce a total force with four fingers of the right hand to accurately match a visually displayed template. The template consisted of a 3-s waiting period, a 3-s ramp force production [from 0 to 30% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)], and a 3-s constant force production. A series of 12 ramp trials was performed before and after fatigue. Fatigue was induced by a 60-s maximal isometric force production with either the index-finger only or with all four fingers during two separate testing sessions. The average percent of drop was 38.2% in the MVC of the index finger after index-finger fatiguing exercise and 38.3% in the MVC of all fingers after four-finger fatiguing exercise. The ability of individual fingers to compensate for each other’s errors in order for the total force to match the preset template was quantified as the error compensation index (ECI), i.e., the ratio of the sum of variances of individual finger forces and the variance of the total force. By comparing pre- and post-fatigue performance during four-finger ramp force production, we observed that the variance of the total force was not significantly changed after one- or four-finger fatiguing exercise. The ECI significantly decreased after four-finger fatiguing exercise, especially during the last second of the ramp; while the ECI remained unchanged after index finger single-finger fatiguing exercise. These results suggest that the central nervous system is able to utilize the abundant degrees of freedom to compensate for partial impairment of the motor apparatus induced by muscle fatigue to maintain the desired performance. However, this ability is significantly decreased when all elements of the motor apparatus are impaired.

This study examined modulation of corticospinal excitability during both actual and imagined movements. Seven young healthy subjects performed actual (3–50% maximal voluntary contractions) and imagined index finger force production, and rest. Individual responses to focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in four fingers (index, middle, ring, and little) were recorded for all three tested conditions. The force increments at the threshold of activation were predicted from regression analysis, representing the TMS-induced response at the threshold activation of the corticospinal pathways. The measured increment in the index finger during motor imagery was larger than that at rest, but smaller than the predicted increment at the threshold of activation. On the other hand, the measured increment in the uninstructed (middle, ring, and little), slave fingers during motor imagery was larger than that at rest, but not different from the predicted increment at the threshold of activation. These contrasting results suggest that the degree of imagery-induced enhancement in corticospinal excitability was significantly less than what could be predicted for threshold levels from regression analysis, but only for the index finger, and not the adjacent slave fingers. It is concluded that corticospinal excitability for the explicitly instructed index finger is specifically enhanced at subthreshold levels during motor imagery.

Force production may be influenced by the phase of ventilation during which force is exerted. To examine the potential influences of ventilation on variability in maximal force measurements, we recorded peak isometric forces of the finger flexors during normal breathing, forced inspiration, forced expiration, and the Valsalva maneuver in 14 healthy adult subjects. The peak force increased significantly from forced inspiration to forced expiration (about 10%). Both forced expiration and inspiration resulted in increases in the flexor/extensor cocontraction ratio, whereas the Valsalva maneuver had no significant effects on maximal force or cocontraction ratio. Thus, this study clearly demonstrates the effects of ventilation on maximal finger force‐generating capability. Ventilation needs to be controlled for accurate assessments of maximal force. Muscle Nerve, 2006

The primary purpose was to examine the effect of enslaving on finger force perception during isometric finger force production using an ipsilateral force-matching paradigm. Fourteen subjects were instructed to produce varying levels of reference forces [10, 20, 30, and 40% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)] force using one finger (index, I or little, L) and to reproduce these forces using the same finger (homo-finger tasks, I/I and L/L) or a different finger (hetero-finger tasks, I/L and L/I). Forces of all fingers were recorded. During homo-finger tasks, no differences were found in force magnitude or relative level of force (expressed as a proportion of MVC). The index finger matching force magnitudes were greater than the little finger reference force magnitudes, with significantly lower levels of relative force during L/I tasks; while the little finger matching forces underestimated the index finger reference forces with significantly higher levels of relative force during I/L tasks. The difference in the matching and reference forces by the instructed finger(s), i.e., matching error, was larger in hetero-finger tasks than in homo-finger tasks, particularly at high reference force levels (30, 40% MVC). When forces of all fingers were considered, enslaving (uninstructed finger forces) significantly minimized matching errors of the total force during both I/L and L/I hetero-finger tasks, especially at high reference force levels. Our results show that there is a tendency to match the absolute magnitude of the total force during ipsilateral finger force-matching tasks. This tendency is likely related to enslaving effects. Our results provide evidence that all (instructed and uninstructed) finger forces are sensed, thus resulting in perception of the absolute magnitude of total finger force.