Valerie O.

Yazbeck
Student ID: 40170951
EXCI 258 Group 2, September 20th

Table 1.1: Motor Unit

Recruitment
Pe Assigned Force Dominant Arm Nondominant Arm
ak Increment
# Force at peak (Kg) Integrated Force at Integrated
EMG (mV) peak (Kg) EMG (mV)
1 5 4.512 0.0356 4.873 0.0232
2 10 8.741 0.068 9.343 0.0501
3 15 13.716 0.127 14.491 0.0754
4 20 18.426 0.145 18.871 0.0827

Table 1.2: Maximum Clench Force

Data
Dominant Arm Nondominant Arm
Maximum Clench 50% of Max Time to Maximum 50% of Max Time to
Force Clench Force Fatigue Clench Force Clench Force fatigue
24.152 12.076 32.502 23.769 11.885 23.626

Graph 1:

The force of muscle contraction vs the integrated EMG of

each muscle clench
0.18

0.16

0.14
Integrated EMG (mV)

0.12

0.1 Dominant Arm

0.08 Nondominant Arm

0.06 Linear (Dominant Arm )

0.04 Log. (Nondominant Arm )

0.02

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Force at peak (Kg)
 • Theoretically, the relationship between the force of each muscle contraction and the integrated EMG is
linear. However, this can only occur if the muscle is activated isometrically at the same length across
different intensities of force. In regards to the graph, we can see that the trendline for the dominant hand
is linear with experimental error. On the contrary, the trendline for the non-dominant hand is
logarithmic.
• A similarity between the dominant hand and non-dominant hand is that the I-EMG increases as the force
increases, meaning it is directly proportional. A difference would be the trendlines of both the dominant
and non-dominant arm, since one is linear and the other is logarithmic.

Short Answer Questions:

1. Define incomplete and complete tetanus? What is the difference between the two (i.e., what is
happening at the physiological level)?

• Incomplete tetanus is when the muscle goes through quick cycles of contraction with a short
relaxation phase for each contraction, whereas in complete tetanus, the stimulus frequency is so
high that the relaxation period disappears completely causing the contractions to be continuous.
The difference between incomplete tetanus has a relaxation period during contractions and
complete tetanus has no relaxation period during contractions.

2. Describe the phenomenon of Treppe, as seen in the following image:

• The phenomenon of Treppe is when muscle tension increases in a manner that looks like a set of
stairs. When a skeletal muscle has been dormant for an extensive stretch of time and
subsequently activated to contract, the initial contractions generate about one-half the force of
later contractions (taking all other factors to be equal). Additionally, the bottom of each wave
represents the point of stimulus. (Pressbooks-dev, accessed October 3rd, 2021, http://pressbooks-
dev.oer.hawaii.edu/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/nervous-system-control-of-muscle-
tension/#:~:text=longer%20produce%20tension).-
,Treppe,the%20force%20of%20later%20contractions.&text=This%20tension%20increase%20is
%20called,muscle%20contractions%20become%20more%20efficient.)

3. As one fatigues, the force exerted by the muscle decreases. What physiological processes explain the
decline in strength (i.e., force output)?

• When the force exerted by the muscle decreases, it is called muscle fatigue. This state happens
due to the metabolic processes that occur when the muscle fibers are not able to continue
supplying the same work output. Additionally, experiments have shown that also transmissions
of nerve signals through the neuromuscular junction can decrease a small amount after intense
prolonged muscle activity, which further diminishes muscle contraction. There is also the reason
of interrupted blood flow because of the loss of nutrient supply, such as oxygen. (Hall JE (2016).
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. 13th edition. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
Elsevier.)
References:
1. (Pressbooks-dev, accessed October 3rd, 2021, http://pressbooks-
dev.oer.hawaii.edu/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/nervous-system-control-of-muscle-
tension/#:~:text=longer%20produce%20tension).-
,Treppe,the%20force%20of%20later%20contractions.&text=This%20tension%20increase%20is%20call
ed,muscle%20contractions%20become%20more%20efficient.)

2. (Hall JE (2016). Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. 13th edition. Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania: Elsevier.)