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Synchronous EMG Activity in the Piper Frequency Band Reveals the Corticospinal Demand of Walking Tasks

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Abstract

Evidence indicates that the frequency-domain characteristics of surface electromyogram (EMG) signals are modulated according to the contributing sources of neural drive. Modulation of inter-muscular EMG synchrony within the Piper frequency band (30–60 Hz) during movement tasks has been linked to drive from the corticospinal tract. However, it is not known whether EMG synchrony is sufficiently sensitive to detect task-dependent differences in the corticospinal contribution to leg muscle activation during walking. We investigated this question in seventeen healthy older men and women. It was hypothesized that, relative to typical steady state walking, Piper band EMG synchrony of the triceps surae muscle group would be reduced for dual-task walking (because of competition for cortical resources), similar for fast walking (because walking speed is directed by an indirect locomotor pathway rather than by the corticospinal tract), and increased when taking a long step (because voluntary gait pattern modifications are directed by the corticospinal tract). Each of these hypotheses was confirmed. These findings support the use of frequency-domain analysis of EMG in future investigations into the corticospinal contribution to control of healthy and disordered human walking.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the US Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service (B7176W to DJC) and by the National Institute on Aging (P30-AG028740-04 to DJC and R01 AG-031769 to EAC).

Conflicts of Interest

There are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, 1601 SW Archer Rd (151A), Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA

    David J. Clark & Andrew R. Bauer

  2. Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida, P.O. Box 100107, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA

    David J. Clark

  3. Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, 109 Bee Street, Charleston, SC, 29401, USA

    Steven A. Kautz

  4. Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, 151 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA

    Steven A. Kautz

  5. Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, P.O. Box 115500, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Yen-Ting Chen & Evangelos A. Christou

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  1. David J. Clark
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  2. Steven A. Kautz
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Correspondence to David J. Clark.

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Associate Editor Catherine Disselhorst-Klug oversaw the review of this article.

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Clark, D.J., Kautz, S.A., Bauer, A.R. et al. Synchronous EMG Activity in the Piper Frequency Band Reveals the Corticospinal Demand of Walking Tasks. Ann Biomed Eng 41, 1778–1786 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0832-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0832-4

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