The long-term goal of this research is to understand the architecture and behavior of motor units in different human muscles. The motor unit is the basic functional unit of the neuromuscular system. The way in which muscle fibers are organized into motor units and the way in which motor units are coordinated are important determinants of a muscle's ability to produce force and movement. The only method currently available for studying individual motor units in intact humans involves analyzing electromyographic (EMG) signals. Decomposition of multi-unit EMG signals allows identification of individual motor-unit discharge patterns and action-potential waveforms. Further analysis of the action-potential waveforms provides information about motor-unit architecture, including the locations of motor endplates and muscle/tendon junctions. EMG decomposition in general, and motor-unit architecture analysis in particular, are not utilized as widely as they could be, in large part because of the lack of available software and because of concerns about the validity of decomposition. We propose to establish a firm scientific foundation for the validity of EMG decomposition by developing a rigorous and objective method for quantifying the accuracy of decomposition results. This will be based on cross-checking results obtained from multi- or single-unit electrodes located at nearby sites in the same muscle. We further propose to enhance and disseminate a powerful, versatile, and accurate EMG decomposition program that we have developed over the past 20 years. All results will be made available via an internet site that will serve as a forum for the exchange of software, test signals, and information related to EMG decomposition. The proposed work will benefit the scientific community by making a powerful research tool more trustworthy and more widely available. This tool will be useful for studying the basic structure and function of human muscles, and it will be relevant to several clinical applications, including tendon-transfer and reconstructive surgery, rehabilitation in stroke and cerebral palsy, and clinical electromyography.
