The joint research group, which includes Assistant Professor Yuichi Nishikawa of Kanazawa University, Professor Kohei Watanabe of Chukyo University, Professor Ales Holobar of the University of Maribor (Slovenia), Associate Professor Yoshiaki Maeda of Hiroshima University, and Professor Allison Hyngstrom of Marquette University (USA), consists of men. It was revealed for the first time that the characteristics of motor nerve activity differ between women and women.
In understanding human movement, it is important to understand the activity characteristics of motor nerves, which transmit movement-related commands from the brain to the muscles. However, most studies on motor nerve activity to date have focused on men, and very few reports have focused on gender differences in motor nerve activity.
This study suggests that gender differences in the nervous system may underlie various gender differences, such as women having a higher risk of ligament damage and a tendency for stroke symptoms to be more severe than men. With this in mind, we investigated gender differences in motor nerve activity.
The research uses high-density surface electromyography, which uses surface electrodes to capture the electrical signals generated when muscles move from above the skin, to measure motor nerve activity easily, painlessly, and non-invasively. carried out. The subjects were 13 healthy young people, 14 men and 27 women, and the muscle activity when abducting (opening outward) the index finger was measured at 10% of maximum strength, at 30% of maximum strength, and at 60% of maximum strength. Measurements were taken at XNUMX% of each time.
The researchers found that women had more neural activity in all motor tasks involving 10% to 60% of their maximum muscle strength. Regarding asymmetry (difference in activity) between the dominant and non-dominant hands, although there is no asymmetry in motor nerve activity in women, only men have excessive motor nerve activity in the non-dominant hand compared to the dominant hand. revealed.
This study found that even with the same exercise intensity, women exhibit excessive motor nerve activity than men, which places a greater burden on neural activity, and that men have greater asymmetry in motor nerve activity than women (non-dominant hand It was found that the patient was hyperactive. These findings are expected to be applied to devising exercise methods tailored to gender and elucidating the risk of developing diseases and injuries.
