Life Sciences Commons^™

Neuromuscular Adaptations To Voluntary Contraction Following Postactivation Potentiation, Cameron B. Smith

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Muscle contractile properties are history-dependent, and following a conditioning contraction, muscle tissue may be fatigued (slower, weaker) or potentiated (faster, stronger). Postactivation potentiation of evoked contractions, such as the electrically stimulated twitch, has been thoroughly studied. However, the effects of potentiation on voluntary contraction are not well understood, and prior study is largely equivocal.

The following studies propose to determine the effects of potentiation during 1) submaximal contractions at different muscle lengths 2) ballistic contractions following tetanic and voluntary conditioning, and 3) motor evoked potentials following tetanic and voluntary conditioning contractions. Evoked twitch potentiation was assessed with all of the …