MOTOR UNIT RECRUITMENT IN THE BICEPS BRACHII OF OLDER ADULTS DURING A FATIGUING

CONTRACTION.

Pascoe MA, Holmes MR, Gaw ME, and Enoka RM

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of age on the discharge characteristics of
motor units in the biceps brachii that were recruited during a sustained submaximal contraction.
The discharge times of ten single motor units were recorded from the biceps brachii in five old
adults (75 ± 4.7 yr). The task was to sustain an isometric contraction at a target force below the
recruitment threshold (RT) of an isolated motor unit until it was recruited and discharged action
potentials for ~ 60 s. The average RT for these motor units during ramp contractions was 18.1 ±
5.2% MVC force (range; 9.9 – 24%), and the discharge rate at recruitment averaged 9.45 ± 2.4
pps. Subjects performed a sustained contraction with the elbow flexors at a target force that was
set at either a relatively small (4.8 ± 2.3% MVC) or large (10.2 ± 2.7% MVC) difference below
RT force; these are subsequently referred to as the 5% and 10% groups, respectively. The target
force was significantly less (P = 0.004) for the 10% group (7.3 ± 1.7% MVC) compared with the
5% group (12.9 ± 3.5% MVC). The average RT for these motor units was similar for the 5%
group (17.8 ± 3.8%) and 10% group (17.5 ± 3.8%). The discharge rate at recruitment during the
ramp contractions was also similar for the 5% group (9.2 ± 1.9 pps) and 10% group (9.3 ± 2.4
pps). The time to recruitment during the sustained contraction did not differ (P = 0.201) for the
two groups of units: 5% group = 190 ± 190 s, 10% group = 505 ± 758 s. All trials were ended
after 81.3 ± 26.2 s of continuous discharge, and were not accompanied by at change in RT after
the task (before 18.1% MVC, after 18.3% MVC; P = 0.823). Trials were divided into five equal-
length epochs, and the discharge characteristics were compared with repeated-measures
ANOVA. The mean discharge rate did not change (5% group: 10.8 ± 2.3 pps, 10% group: 10.0
± 3.6 pps), but the coefficient of variation (CV) for interspike intervals decreased similarly for
both groups (5% group: 16.9 to 11.6%, 10% group: 16.7 to 13.5%). There were no differences
between groups in discharge rate during the ramp (9.15 and 9.34 pps for the 5% and 10% groups,
respectively) and first five interspike intervals of the sustained (10.2 and 10.2 pps) contractions.
Similarly, there were no group differences in CV for interspike interval for the ramp (20.3 and
20.0%) and first five interspike intervals of the sustained (20.6 and 16.9%) contractions. These
results contrast with findings for young adults, who demonstrated reduced discharge rates and
elevated CV for interspike interval values for 10% units during sustained contractions. These
data suggest that the integration of synaptic input during sustained contractions differs for young
and old adults.

Supported by NIA AG09000 to RME.

Key Words: motor unit, aging, discharge variability, recruitment threshold