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A model for a motor unit train recorded during constant force isometric contractions

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Abstract

A model for the motor-unit action-potential train is developed, based on previously obtained empirical information. The auto and cross-correlation functions are calculated. The autocorrelation function is used to derive the mean rectified value, the variance and the root-mean-squared value of a motor-unit action-potential train. These parameters are solved by using two approximations for the motor-unit action-potential; a piece-wise approximation and a Dirac Delta function approximation. The Dirac Delta function approximation sufficiently simplifies the mathematics so that the model can be extended to myoelectric signals. The cross-correlation function contains information about the synchronization of motorunit action-potential trains that may be useful as an objective indicator of muscle fatigue.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Boston, Mass., USA

    Carlo J. De Luca

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambrige, Massachusetts, USA

    Carlo J. De Luca

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  1. Carlo J. De Luca
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De Luca, C.J. A model for a motor unit train recorded during constant force isometric contractions. Biol. Cybernetics 19, 159–167 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337255

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00337255

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