Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Extraction of the EPP Component from the Surface EMG
Published on: December 16, 2009
[The chaotic dynamics of the surface potential of human skeletal muscles in electromyography]
Abstract:
A new method for evaluating the electromyography data obtained for transversal striated muscles of human lower extremities has been developed. The new method is based on nonlinear dynamics and thermodynamics and can be used for the identification of patholodies. The main parameter that describes the coherence of muscle work is the distance between two trajectories of the potential, which is measured for the similar muscles of two extremities. Based on these parameters, the Lyapunov index and the initial conditions forgetting time were obtained, which in turn, reflects, in general, the chaotic dynamics of muscle activity. The application of the theory of deterministic chaos to the analysis of electromyograms allows one to improvise the quality of diagnosis of diseases of the peripheral nervous system and to control more effectively the course of their treatment. The advantages of the new method are the pictorial presentation of the data, self-descriptiveness of the Lyapunov index determination, and the nonlinear characteristics of the phase-plane portraits in pathology risk evaluation. The results obtained confirm the important role of the nonlinear balance of the in systems normal and pathologic.
Related Concept Videos
Generation of Action Potential in Skeletal Muscles
Like neurons, muscle cells are also regarded as excitable due to their capacity to change in response to stimuli, primarily due to voltage-gated ion channels embedded in their plasma membranes, which get activated by alterations in the cell's...
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential...
Muscle Stimulation Frequency
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...
Relaxation of Skeletal Muscles
When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it depolarizes the membrane and opens voltage-gated sodium channels. Sodium ions enter the cell, further depolarizing the presynaptic membrane. This depolarization causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open.

