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Altered Muscle-Brain Connectivity During Left and Right Biceps Brachii Isometric Contraction Following Sleep
Puyan Chi1,2, Yun Bai3, Weiping Du4
1Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China.
Abstract:
Insufficient sleep causes muscle fatigue, impacting performance. The mechanism of brain-muscle signaling remains uncertain. In this study, we examined the impact of sleep deprivation on muscle endurance during isometric contractions and explored the changes in brain-muscle connectivity.
Methods:
The research involved 35 right-handed male participants who took part in an exercise test that included isometric contractions of the left and right biceps in both sleep-deprived and well-rested states. Muscle contraction duration and electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) signals were recorded. Functional connectivity between brain regions was assessed using the phase locking value (PLV), while partial directed coherence (PDC) was used to analyze signal directionality between motor centers and muscles.
Results:
The connectivity strength between Brodmann areas (BAs) 1-5 and the right BA6, 8 regions was significantly decreased in the isometric contractions after sleep deprivation. Insufficient sleep enhanced the PDC signals from the motor center of the right brain to the left biceps, and it decreased the PDC signals from both biceps to their opposite motor centers.
Conclusions:
Sleep deprivation shortened muscle isometric contraction duration by affecting the interaction between the somatosensory motor cortex and the right premotor cortex, reducing biceps feedback signal connectivity to the contralateral motor center in the brain.
