The surface EMG as a source of information on motor control.

Roberto Merletti
Department of Electronics, Politecnico di Torino

Ale? Holobar
System Software Laboratory University of Maribor, Slovenia

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     Last modified: April 28, 2007
     Presentation date: 08/12/2007 9:05 AM in MCC
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Abstract
The surface EMG as a source of information on motor control.
Roberto Merletti 1 , Ale? Holobar 1,2
1 Laboratory for Engineering of the Neuromuscular System, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
2 System Software Laboratory University of Maribor, Slovenia

The surface electromyographic (SEMG) signal is the summation of contributions from the active motor units within the muscle and contains information about their features. Some of this information can be extracted in ?global? form and in ?single motor unit? form. Global information concerns force (with considerable limitations), ?global? muscle fiber conduction velocity, myoelectric manifestations of muscle fatigue and muscle activation intervals. Single motor unit information requires decomposition of the SEMG into the constituent trains of motor unit action potentials (MUAP) and is achievable only for the most superficial motor units. The individual MUAP trains provide information about the geometry and anatomy of the corresponding motor units, their recruitment threshold, firing rate and myoelectric manifestations of fatigue. The latter information provides insight into the motor unit type. The limitations and the reliability of these information will be discussed.