Advanced Neuromuscular Exercise Physiology

Phillip F. Gardiner, PhD, is a professor emeritus of kinesiology and recreation management at the University of Manitoba, with a cross-appointment in the department of physiology and pathophysiology in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. He served as director of the Spinal Cord Research Centre at the University of Manitoba from 2015 to 2020 and prior to that was the director of the Health, Leisure, & Human Performance Research Institute. Author of the Human Kinetics books Neuromuscular Aspects of Physical Activity (2001) and Skeletal Muscle: Form and Function (coauthor, 2006), Gardiner has also published over 150 research articles on neuromuscular system adaptability. Gardiner served as the president of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) and as coeditor in chief of the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology. In 2007, he received the highest award bestowed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology: the CSEP Honour Award. He served as a Tier I Canada Research Chair in physical activity and health studies at the University of Manitoba from 2002 to 2016 and was chair of the Scientific Committee of Muscular Dystrophy Canada from 2015 to 2018. He has also served the Canadian Institutes of Health Research as chair of the board and as scientific director of the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA).

Chapter 1. Muscle Fibers, Motor Units, and Motoneurons Muscle Heterogeneity Orderly Motor Unit Recruitment Smaller Motoneurons Are More Excitable Membrane Resistivity and Motoneuron Size Other Factors Determining Action Potential Generation Minimal Firing Rates and Afterhyperpolarization Durations Motoneuron Current-Frequency Relationship and Excitability Spike Frequency Adaptation Motoneuron Persistent Inward Currents (PICs) Summary Chapter 2. Motor Unit Recruitment During Different Types of Movements Measuring Human Motor Unit Recruitment Influence of Task Synergists Influence of Pain on Motor Unit Recruitment Slow-Ramp Isometric Contractions Maintained Isometric Contractions Isometric Contractions in Various Directions Isometric Contractions Versus Movements Ballistic Contractions Lengthening Contractions Cocontraction of Agonists and Antagonists Unilateral Versus Bilateral Contractions Maximal Voluntary Contractions Muscle Histochemistry to Investigate Rhythmic Complex Contractions Summary Chapter 3. Muscle Blood Flow and Metabolism Muscle Blood Flow Muscle Metabolism Summary Chapter 4. Peripheral Factors in Neuromuscular Fatigue Fatigue as Interference With the Contractile Machinery Failure of Impulse Propagation Along the Muscle Fiber Membrane Peripheral Fatigue Sites Other Than Muscle Membrane and Contractile Machinery Research From Animal Experiments Summary Chapter 5. Central Factors in Neuromuscular Fatigue Motoneuron Activity During Sustained Contractions Isometric Versus Anisometric Tasks Rotation of Motor Units? Summary Chapter 6. Muscular Mechanisms in Aerobic Endurance Training Chronic Muscle Stimulation Coordination of Muscle Protein Systems Pretranslational Control Translational Control Posttranslational Modifications Mitochondrial Responses Simultaneous Expression of Isoforms Adaptations Can Occur Ex Vivo Adaptations Appear in a Specific Sequence Thresholds of Activity for Adaptation Chronic Stimulation and Atrophy Metabolic Signals and the Adaptive Response Degenerative and Regenerative Processes Summary Chapter 7. Neural Mechanisms in Aerobic Endurance Training Adaptation of the Neuromuscular Junction Responses of Motoneurons Adaptations of Spinal Cord Circuits Summary Chapter 8. Muscle Molecular Mechanisms in Strength Training Acute Responses in Protein Synthesis and Degradation Connective Tissue Responses Role of Muscle Damage Role of Dietary Supplements Summary Chapter 9. Muscle Property Changes in Strength Training Increased Muscle Fiber Cross-Sectional Area Fiber Type Composition Muscle Fiber Number Muscle Composition Muscle Architecture Muscle Fiber Ultrastructure Tendons Evoked Isometric Contractile Properties Changes in Muscle Force, Velocity, and Power Fatigue Resistance Role of Eccentric Contractions Concurrent Resistance and Aerobic Training Summary Chapter 10. Neural Mechanisms in Strength Training Gains in Strength Versus Muscle Girth Strength Gains Show Task Specificity Surface EMG Response During MVC Imaginary Strength Training Reflex Adaptations Cross Education Decreased Activation of Antagonists Changes in Motor Unit Recruitment Changes in Motor Cortex Summary Chapter 11. Clinical Considerations Concerning Neuromuscular Exercise and Training Effects of Exercise on Neuromuscular Aging Effects of Exercise Training in Stroke Patients Physical Activity and Fibromyalgia Exercise and Dementia Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Summary