Name: Yoav Avisira

Student ID: 015279888

Date: November 23rd, 2020

The Effects of Exercise on the Development of Motor Units

Motor units, consisting of a specific type of skeletal muscle fibers and motor neurons, are the
basic functional units of muscle contraction. Following the formation of an action potential in a
motor neuron, the skeletal muscle fibers are contracted, and force is produced. The different
motor units in our body are responsible for many different daily activities, such as walking,
eating, speaking, etc., that require different amounts of force [ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ]. At the
single muscle level, groups of motor units work together to coordinate their contractions and to
perform the different tasks. There are three types of motor units: Fast-Glycolytic (FG), Fast-
Oxidative-Glycolytic (FOG), and Slow-Oxidative (SO). Within each motor unit all muscle fibers
are of the same fiber type. The “all or none principle” states that when a motor unit is activated,
all of its fibers contract together [ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].

The same muscle fiber can be innervated by different motor neurons including excitatory and
inhibitory neurons. This creates increased modularity of the muscle for achieving the desirable
task[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ] . Each muscle has a few motor units that can activate it. In general,
muscles in the largest body masses, such as the quadriceps femoris, contain more muscle fibers
in each motor unit. Smaller muscles, such as the biceps, contain fewer muscle fibers in each
motor unit. Muscles that are able to control force output more finely possess more motor units
(and thus have greater individual motor neuron innervation).

The central nervous system (CNS) is responsible for the systematic recruitment of motor
neurons. The motor units are usually recruited from smallest to largest, depending on the load
and the movement[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ] . Smaller loads require less force, slow twitch, low-
force, fatigue-resistant muscle fibers. These fibers are stimulated and recruited before fast-twitch,
high-force, less fatigue-resistant muscle fibers. The generation of higher forces is allowed by
large motor units that are typically composed of faster muscle fibers[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].
The CNS has two different ways of managing the force produced by a muscle through motor unit
recruitment. The first is spatial recruitment, and the second is temporal recruitment. Spatial
recruitment means that more motor units are activated and therefore a greater force is produced.
Large and small motor units contract simultaneously until all muscle fibers in the muscle are
activated, producing maximum muscle force. Temporal motor unit recruitment (also called rate
coding) deals with the frequency of activation of muscle fiber contractions. Consecutive
stimulation of the motor unit fibers causes the muscle to twitch more frequently. By decreasing
the interval between stimulations, this stimulation can generate a greater force with the same
number of motor units[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].
Electromyography (EMG) is a method of measuring the neural activity of the muscle and its
motor units. This is tested by measuring the recruitment threshold of a motor unit during
isometric contraction in which the force is gradually increased [ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ]. The
motor units that are recruited at low force (low-threshold units) are small, while high-threshold
larger motor units are recruited when higher forces are deployed. Large motor units tend to have
shorter contraction times than smaller units. The number of additional motor units recruited
during an increase of force declines sharply at high levels of voluntary force. Even though high
threshold units generate more tension, their contribution to the increase of voluntary force is
declined at higher force levels[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].

There are several ways by which the development of motor units can be modified. First, neural
adaptations describe changes in the neuron's levels that occur post-training. An example of this is
short-term (eight to twenty weeks) training, which leads to an increase in strength because neural
adaptations have occurred at the muscle level. Improved synchronization of motor unit firing and
improved ability to recruit motor units are all examples of neural adaptations that enable a person
to obtain the required strength for a certain movement[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].

Another modification is hypertrophy. The size of the muscle fibers within working motor units
can affect force production[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ] . Physical training results in two intracell
processes: (1) an increase in the synthesis of the contractile proteins actin and myosin and (2) an
increase in the number of myofibrils within a muscle fiber. These processes lead to an increase in
size of the muscle fibers in the motor unit. New myofilaments that are added to the external
layers of the myofibril increase its diameter. The “Size Principle" states that during heavy
resistance training, the muscle fiber diameters increase. This is because they are recruited in
consecutive order by their size (small to large) to produce higher levels of force. In advanced
weightlifters, the CNS might adapt differently by allowing these athletes to recruit some large
motor units before the smaller ones. This happens to help with greater production of power or
speed in certain movements. It is important to clarify that adaptations to resistance training are
specific to the type of exercise performed. Moreover, resistance training has no meaningful
impact on aerobic power, and vice versa[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].

The third modification is hyperplasia, the process by which additional fibers/motor units are
formed. Some studies show that a low volume (3-5 sets per exercise), high intensity (85-95% of
a 1-repetition maximum) strength training program will increase contractile protein (i.e., actin
and myosin) via hyperplasia[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ]. Other studies report that elite
bodybuilders have a high hyperplasia characteristic; more fibers/motor unit than the average
person. The number of muscle fibers within each motor unit can vary in the muscle level and
also between different muscles in our body[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].
The last modification is the recruitment of motor units. Research shows that low volume (1-3
sets per exercise, 10-12 repetitions per set), low intensity (70-75% of a 1-repetition maximum)
strength training can reduce the inhibition by gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the spinal
cord. This reduction allows for more motor units to be recruited and used more easily, and
therefore for the muscle to produce more force[ CITATION CCO12 \l 1033 ].

References
CC-OLI project. (1999-2012). Anatomy and Physiology. UNIT 6: Muscular System. Carnegie Mellon
University.