Measure of increase in motor unit synchronisaton for young and old using sEMG

The motor-unit synchronization is impacted by the motor cortex projection to the spinal motor-neurons via the lateral corticospinal tract which may be affected by age. This paper reports an investigation of the age-related changes to the motor unit synchronization. Experiments were conducted on rested subjects during which they contracted their biceps against a fixed load and two channel surface electromyogram was recorded. The signal was analysed to determine the level of synchronization between multiple channels. The results indicate that there is age related reduction in the independence between multiple channels of sEMG, which implies there is a significant change in synchronization in old age groups as compared to the young age range.