Citation

Doucet BM, Mettler JA, Griffin L, Spirduso W. Percept. Mot. Skills 2016; 123(1): 244-257.

Affiliation

Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0031512516661274

PMID

27502241

Abstract

Irregularities in force output are present throughout human movement and can impair task performance. We investigated the presence of a large force discontinuity (after-peak reduction, APR) that appeared immediately following peak in maximal effort ramp contractions performed with the thumb adductor and ankle dorsiflexor muscles in 25 young adult participants (76% males, 24% females; M age 24.4 years, SD = 7.1). The after-peak reduction displayed similar parameters in both muscle groups with comparable drops in force during the after-peak reduction minima (thumb adductor: 27.5 ± 7.5% maximal voluntary contraction; ankle dorsiflexor: 25.8 ± 6.2% maximal voluntary contraction). A trend for the presence of fewer after-peak reductions with successive ramp trials was observed, suggesting a learning effect. Further investigation should explore underlying neural mechanisms contributing to the after-peak reduction.

© The Author(s) 2016.

Language: en