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. 1971 Dec;34(6):699–711. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.34.6.699

Potentiation of `late' responses evoked in muscles during effort

A R M Upton 1,2,1, A J McComas 1,2,1, R E P Sica 1,2,2
PMCID: PMC1083505  PMID: 5158786

Abstract

A study has been made of the effect of voluntary contraction on the `late' responses which can be recorded in muscles after indirect stimulation. Two late responses have been described of which the first was shown to consist mainly of a potentiated H-reflex. The potentiation of this wave was greatest in the abductor pollicis brevis muscle and depended largely on `direct' descending pathways to motoneurones. In addition, a later evoked muscle response appeared during effort; the nature of this wave was uncertain. Simple formulae have been devised to express the excitability of motoneurones to inputs from muscle nerves during effort.

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Selected References

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