Interhemispheric plasticity in humans.

Introduction: Chronic unimanual motor practice increases the motor output not only in the trained but also in the nonexercised homologous muscle in the opposite limb. We examined the hypothesis that adaptations in motor cortical excitability of the nontrained primary motor cortex (iM1) and in interhemispheric inhibition from the trained to the nontrained M1 mediate this interlimb cross education.

Methods: Healthy, young volunteers (n=12) performed 1000 submaximal voluntary contractions (MVC) of the right first dorsal interosseus (FDI) at 80% MVC during 20 sessions.

Chronic low-frequency rTMS of primary motor cortex diminishes exercise training-induced gains in maximal voluntary force in humans.

Although there is consensus that the central nervous system mediates the increases in maximal voluntary force (maximal voluntary contraction, MVC) produced by resistance exercise, the involvement of the primary motor cortex (M1) in these processes remains controversial. We hypothesized that 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of M1 during resistance training would diminish strength gains. Forty subjects were divided equally into five groups.