Neck muscle fatigue affects performance of an eye-hand tracking task

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Kinesiology
• Human Performance

Background:

• Altered afferent input from neck muscles due to fatigue impacts proprioception and upper limb accuracy.
• Cervical extensor muscle (CEM) fatigue is hypothesized to affect motor control and performance.
• Understanding this relationship is vital for rehabilitation and performance optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of cervical extensor muscle (CEM) fatigue on eye-hand tracking accuracy in healthy individuals.
• To determine if fatigue-induced changes in neck afferent input alter upper limb movement precision.
• To assess performance differences with and without visual feedback after CEM fatigue.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-four healthy participants were assigned to a CEM fatigue or control group.
• Participants performed an eye-hand tracking task (moving a cursor to a target) with and without visual feedback.
• CEM fatigue was induced by holding a 2kg weight; tracking accuracy was measured pre- and post-intervention at various time points.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in trajectory angle and distance to target were observed between conditions with and without vision for both groups.
• The CEM fatigue group showed significant reductions in tracking accuracy for the hidden target condition immediately post-fatigue.
• These findings indicate that neck muscle fatigue specifically impairs performance in tasks requiring proprioceptive integration.

Conclusions:

• Cervical extensor muscle fatigue reduces the accuracy of upper limb tracking tasks, particularly when visual feedback is absent.
• Altered afferent input from the neck following fatigue may disrupt body schema, leading to decreased motor performance.
• Maintaining neck muscle integrity is important for accurate visuomotor control and overall upper limb function.