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Does mental exertion alter maximal muscle activation?

Rozand, Vianney, Pageaux, Benjamin, Marcora, Samuele Maria, Papaxanthis, Charalambos, Lepers, Romuald (2014) Does mental exertion alter maximal muscle activation? Frontiers in human neuroscience, 8 . Article Number 755. (doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00755) (KAR id:60789)

Abstract

Mental exertion is known to impair endurance performance, but its effects on neuromuscular function remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that mental exertion reduces torque and muscle activation during intermittent maximal voluntary contractions of the knee extensors. Ten subjects performed in a randomized order three separate mental exertion conditions lasting 27 min each: (i) high mental exertion (incongruent Stroop task), (ii) moderate mental exertion (congruent Stroop task), (iii) low mental exertion (watching a movie). In each condition, mental exertion was combined with 10 intermittent maximal voluntary contractions of the knee extensor muscles (one maximal voluntary contraction every 3 min). Neuromuscular function was assessed using electrical nerve stimulation. Maximal voluntary torque, maximal muscle activation and other neuromuscular parameters were similar across mental exertion conditions and did not change over time. These findings suggest that mental exertion does not affect neuromuscular function during intermittent maximal voluntary contractions of the knee extensors.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00755
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Sport and Exercise Sciences
Depositing User: Samuele Marcora
Date Deposited: 09 Mar 2017 19:08 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Feb 2021 13:43 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/60789 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Marcora, Samuele Maria.

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