Time but not force is transferred between ipsilateral upper and lower limbs.

Full Abstract

The authors compared the force and time endpoint accuracy of goal-directed ipsilateral upper and lower limb isometric contractions and determined the components of motor performance that can be transferred from 1 limb to the other after practice. Ten young adults (27.4 +/- 4.4 years) performed 100 trials that involved their matching peak force to a force-time target with ankle dorsiflexor and elbow flexor muscles. The peak force error and variability was greater for ankle dorsiflexor contractions than for elbow flexor contractions, whereas the timing error and variability did not significantly vary with limb. There was transfer of timing, but not force, of motor output between upper and lower limbs. The timing error of the elbow flexor contractions decreased by 23% when those contractions were preceded by ankle dorsiflexor contractions, and the timing error of the ankle dorsiflexors decreased by 24% when those contractions were preceded by elbow flexor contractions. These finding therefore suggest that timing of an aiming isometric contraction may be organized at a common part of the brain for the upper and lower limbs.

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Author information

Author/s: Christou, Evangelos A (EA); Rodriguez, Tiffany M (TM);

Affiliation: Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4243, USA. eachristou(-atsign-)hlkn.tamu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Journal of motor behavior (J Mot Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-May; vol 40 (issue 3) : pp 186-9

Dates: Created 2008/05/14; Completed 2008/07/01;

PMID: 18477532, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Arm - physiology
Exercise - physiology
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Isometric Contraction - physiology
Kinesthesis - physiology

Kinesthesis - physiology
Leg - physiology
Male
Muscle Strength - physiology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Reaction Time - physiology
Reference Values
Transfer (Psychology) - physiology

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