Abstract
Central fatigue during exercise is the decrease in muscle force attributable to a decline in motoneuronal output. Several methods have been used to assess central fatigue; however, some are limited or not sensitive enough to detect failure in central drive. Central fatigue develops during many forms of exercise. A number of mechanisms may contribute to its development including an increased inhibition mediated by group III and IV muscle afferents along with a decrease in muscle spindle facilitation. In some situations, motor cortical output is shown to be suboptimal. A specific terminology for central fatigue is included.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Allen GM, Gandevia SC & McKenzie DK (1993a). Accurate measurements of maximal strength and maximal drive with twitch interpolation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 86, 52P.
Allen GM, McKenzie DK, Gandevia SC & Bass S (1993b). Reduced voluntary drive to breathe in asthmatic subjects. Respiration Physiology 93, 29–40.
Balestra C, Duchateau J & Hainaut K (1992). Effects of fatigue on the stretch reflex in a human muscle. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology 85, 46–52.
Belanger AY & McComas AJ (1981). Extent of motor unit activation during effort. Journal of Applied Physiology: Respiratory, Environmental & Exercise Physiology 51, 1131–1135.
Bellemare F & Bigland-Ritchie B (1984). Assessment of human diaphragm strength and activation using phrenic nerve stimulation. Respiration Physiology 58, 263–277.
Bellemare F & Bigland-Ritchie B (1987). Central components of diaphragmatic fatigue assessed by phrenic nerve stimulation. Journal of Applied Physiology 62, 1307–1316.
Bellemare F, Woods JJ, Johansson R & Bigland-Ritchie B (1983). Motor-unit discharge rates in maximal voluntary contractions of three human muscles. Journal of Neurophysiology 50, 1380–1392.
Bigland B & Lippold OCJ (1954). Motor unit activity in the voluntary contraction of human muscles. Journal of Physiology (London) 125, 322–335.
Bigland-Ritchie B, Dawson NJ, Johansson RS & Lippold OCJ (1986). Reflex origin for the slowing of motoneurone firing rates in fatigue of human voluntary contractions. Journal of Physiology (London) 379, 451–459.
Bigland-Ritchie B, Furbush FH, Gandevia SC & Thomas CK (1992a). Voluntary discharge frequencies of human motoneurons at different muscle lengths. Muscle & Nerve 15, 130–137.
Bigland-Ritchie B, Johansson R, Lippold OCJ & Woods JJ (1983). Contractile speed and EMG changes during fatigue of sustained maximal voluntary contractions. Journal of Neurophysiology 50, 313–324.
Bigland-Ritchie B, Jones DA, Hosking GP & Edwards RHT (1978). Central and peripheral fatigue in sustained maximum voluntary contractions of human quadriceps muscle. Clinical Science and Molecular Medicine 54, 609–614.
Bigland-Ritchie B & Rice CL (1994). Comparison of force-frequency relations in human voluntary and stimulated contractions. Proceedings of the Physiological Society, C103.
Bigland-Ritchie B, Thomas CK, Rice CL, Howarth JV & Woods JJ (1992b). Muscle temperature, contractile speed, and motoneuron firing rates during human voluntary contractions. Journal of Applied Physi-ology 73, 2457–2461.
Bongiovanni LG & Hagbarth K-E (1990). Tonic vibration reflexes elicited during fatigue from maximal voluntary contractions in man. Journal of Physiology (London) 423, 1–14.
Brasil-Neto JP, Pascual-Leone A, Valls-solé J, Cammarota A, Cohen LG & Hallet M (1993). Postexercise depression of motor evoked potentials: a measure of central nervous system fatigue. Experimental Brain Research 93, 181–184.
Brouwer B, Ashby P & Midroni G (1989). Excitability of corticospinal neurons during tonic muscle contractions in man. Experimental Brain Research 74, 649–652.
Chaouloff F (1991). Cerebral monoamines and fatigue. In Atlan G, Beliveau L, Bouissou P (eds.), Muscle Fatigue: Biochemical and Physiological Aspects, pp. 234–240. Paris: Masson.
De Luca CJ, Lefever RS, McCue MP & Xenakis AP (1982). Behaviour of human motor units in different muscles during linearly varying contractions. Journal of Physiology (London) 329, 113–128.
Duchateau J & Hainaut K (1987). Electrical and mechanical changes in immobilized human muscle. Journal of Applied Physiology 62, 2168–2173.
Fruede F & Ullsperger P (1987). Changes in Bereitschaftspotential during fatiguing and non-fatiguing hand movements. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology 56, 105–108.
Gandevia SC (1992). Some central and peripheral factors affecting human motoneuronal output in neuromuscular fatigue. Sports Medicine 13, 93–98.
Gandevia SC, Allen GM, Butler JE & Taylor JL (1995). Supraspinal factors in human muscle fatigue: evidence for suboptimal output from the motor cortex. Journal of Physiology (London) In press.
Gandevia SC, Butler JE, Allen GM & Taylor JL (1994) Prolongation of the’ silent’ period following transcranial magnetic stimulation. Proceedings of the Physiological Society, C138.
Gandevia SC, Macefield G, Burke D & McKenzie DK (1990a). Voluntary activation of human motor axons in the absence of muscle afferent feedback. The control of the deafferented hand. Brain 113, 1563–1581.
Gandevia SC & McKenzie DK (1985). Activation of the human diaphragm during maximal static efforts. Journal of Physiology (London) 367, 45–56.
Gandevia SC & McKenzie DK (1988). Activation of human muscles at short muscle lengths during maximal static efforts. Journal of Physiology (London) 407, 599–613.
Gandevia SC & McKenzie DK (1993). Central factors in human muscle performance. Proceedings of the International Union of Physiological Sciences 122.6/0.
Gandevia SC, McKenzie DK & Plassman BL (1990b). Activation of human respiratory muscles during different voluntary manoeuvres. Journal of Physiology (London) 428, 387–403.
Garner SC, Sutton JR, Burse RL, McComas AJ, Cymerman A & Houston CS (1990). Operation Everest II: neuromuscular performance under conditions of extreme simulated altitude. Journal of Applied Physiology 68, 1667–1172.
Gooch JL, Newton BY & Petajan JH (1990). Motor unit spike counts before and after maximal voluntary contraction. Muscle & Nerve 13, 1146–1151.
Grimby L, Hannerz J & Hedman B (1981). The fatigue and voluntary discharge properties of single motor units in man. Journal of Physiology (London) 316, 545–554.
Hales JP & Gandevia SC (1988). Assessment of maximal voluntary contraction with twitch interpolation: an instrument to measure twitch responses. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 25, 97–102.
Hayward L, Breitbach D & Rymer Z (1988). Increased inhibitory effects on close synergists during muscle fatigue in the decerebrate cat. Brain Research 440, 199–203.
Heyes MP, Garnett ES & Coates G (1985). Central dopaminergic activity influences rats ability to exercise. Life Sciences 36, 671–677.
Hill AV (1926). Muscular Activity. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Howard JD & Enoka RM (1991). Maximum bilateral contractions are modified by neurally mediated interlimb effects. Journal of Applied Physiology 70, 306–316.
Jacobsen S, Wildschiodtz G & Danneskiold-Samsoe B (1991). Isokinetic and isometric muscle strength combined with transcutaneous electrical muscle stimulation in primary fibromyalgia syndrome. Journal of Rheumatology 18, 1390–1393.
Kaufman MP, Rybicki KJ, Waldrop TG & Ordway GA (1984a). Effect of ischemia on responses of group III and IV afferents to contraction. Journal of Applied Physiology 57, 644–650.
Kaufman MP, Waldrop TG, Rybicki KJ, Ordway GA & Mitchell JH (1984b). Effects of static and rhythmic twitch contractions on the discharge of group III and IV muscle afferents. Cardiovascular Research 18, 663–668.
Kerneil D & Monster AW (1982). Motoneurone properties and motor fatigue. Experimental Brain Research 46, 197–204.
Killian K (1992). Symptoms limiting exercise. In: Jones NL, Killian KJ (eds.), Breathlessness, pp. 132–142. Hamilton, Canada: Boehringer Ingelheim.
Kukulka CG, Moore MA & Russell AG (1986). Changes in human alpha-motoneuron excitability during sustained maximum isometric contractions. Neuroscience Letters 68, 327–333.
Lafleur J, Zytnicki D, Horcholle-Bossavit G & Jami L (1992). Depolarization of Ib afferent axons in the cat spinal cord during homonymous muscle contraction. Journal of Physiology (London) 445, 345–354.
Ljubisavljevic M, Jovanovic K & Anastasijevic R (1992). Changes in discharge rate of fusimotor neurones provoked by fatiguing contractions of cat triceps surae muscles. Journal of Physiology (London) 445, 499–513.
Lloyd AR, Gandevia SC & Hales JP (1991). Muscle performance, voluntary activation, twitch properties and perceived effort in normal subjects and patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome. Brain 114, 85–98.
Loring SH & Hershenson MB (1992). Effects of series compliance on twitches superimposed on voluntary contractions. Journal of Applied Physiology 73, 516–521.
Macefield G, Hagbarth K-E, Gorman R, Gandevia SC & Burke D (1991). Decline in spindle support to alpha motoneurones during sustained voluntary contractions. Journal of Physiology (London) 440, 497–512.
Macefield VG, Gandevia SC, Bigland-Ritchie B, Gorman RB & Burke D (1993). The firing rates of human motoneurones voluntarily activated in the absence of muscle afferent feedback. Journal of Physiology (London) 471, 429–443.
Marsden CD, Meadows JC & Merton PA (1969). Muscular wisdom. Journal of Physiology (London) 200, 15P.
Marsden CD, Meadows JC & Merton PA (1983). “Muscular wisdom” that minimizes fatigue during prolonged effort in man: peak rates of motoneuron discharge and slowing of discharge during fatigue. Advances in Neurology 39, 169–211.
Marsden CD, Merton PA & Morton HB (1980). Maximal twitches from stimulation of the motor cortex in man. Journal of Physiology (London) 312, 5P.
Maton B (1991). Central nervous changes in fatigue induced by local work. In Atlan G, Beliveau L, Bouissou P (eds.), Muscle Fatigue: Biochemical and Physiological Aspects, pp. 207–221. Paris: Masson.
McComas AJ, Kereshi S & Quinlan J (1983). A method for detecting functional weakness. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 46, 280–282.
McKenzie DK, Bigland-Ritchie B, Gorman RB & Gandevia SC (1992). Central and peripheral fatigue of human diaphragm and limb muscles assessed by twitch interpolation. Journal of Physiology (London) 454, 643–656.
McKenzie DK & Gandevia SC (1986). Strength and endurance of inspiratory, expiratory, and limb muscles in asthma. American Review of Respiratory Disease 134, 999–1004.
McKenzie DK & Gandevia SC (1991). Recovery from fatigue of human diaphragm and limb muscles. Respiration Physiology 84, 49–60.
Merton PA (1954). Voluntary strength and fatigue. Journal of Physiology (London) 123, 553–564.
Meurnier S & Pierrot-Deseilligny E (1989). Gating of the afferent volley of the monosynaptic stretch reflex during movement in man. Journal of Physiology (London) 419, 753–763.
Mosso A (1904). Fatigue. London: Sonnenschein & Co.
Newham DJ, McCarthy T & Turner J (1991). Voluntary activation of human quadriceps during and after isokinetic exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 71, 2122–2126.
Paintal AS (1960). Functional analysis of group III afferent fibers of mammalian muscles. Journal of Physiology (London) 152, 250–270.
Phillips CG & Porter R (1977). Corticospinal Neurones, Their Role in Movement. London: Academic Press.
Porter R & Lemon R (1993). Corticospinal Function and Voluntary Movement. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Rutherford OM, Jones DA & Newham DJ (1986). Clinical and experimental application of the percutaneous twitch superimposition technique for the study of human muscle activation. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 49, 1288–1294.
Sieck GC & Fournier M (1989). Diaphragm motor unit recruitment during ventilatory and nonventilatory behaviours. Journal of Applied Physiology 66, 2539–2545.
Thomas CK, Bigland-Ritchie B & Johansson RS (1991). Force-frequency relationships of human thenar motor units. Journal of Neurophysiology 65, 1509–1516.
Thomas CK, Woods JJ & Bigland-Ritchie B (1989). Impulse propagation and muscle activation in long maximal voluntary contractions. Journal of Applied Physiology 67, 1835–1842.
Van der Linden DW, Kukulka CG & Soderberg GL (1991). The effect of muscle length on motor unit discharge characteristics in human tibialis anterior muscle. Experimental Brain Research 84, 210–218.
Vøllestad NK, Sejersted OM, Bahr R, Woods JJ & Bigland-Ritchie B (1988). Motor drive and metabolic responses during repeated submaximal contractions in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology 64, 1421–1427.
Wood L, Ferrell WR & Baxendale RH (1988). Pressures in normal and acutely distended human knee joints and effects on quadriceps maximal voluntary contractions. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 73, 305–314.
Woods JJ, Furbush F & Bigland-Ritchie B (1987). Evidence for a fatigue-induced reflex inhibition of motoneurone firing rates. Journal of Neurophysiology 58, 125–137.
Yue G & Cole KJ (1992). Strength increases from the motor program: comparison of training with maximal voluntary and imagined muscle contractions. Journal of Neurophysiology 67, 1114–1123.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gandevia, S.C., Allen, G.M., McKenzie, D.K. (1995). Central Fatigue. In: Gandevia, S.C., Enoka, R.M., McComas, A.J., Stuart, D.G., Thomas, C.K., Pierce, P.A. (eds) Fatigue. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 384. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1016-5_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1016-5_22
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1018-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1016-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive