TY - JOUR T1 - EMG analysis of stereotyped voluntary movements in man. JF - Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry JO - J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry SP - 1154 LP - 1162 DO - 10.1136/jnnp.38.12.1154 VL - 38 IS - 12 AU - M Hallett AU - B T Shahani AU - R R Young Y1 - 1975/12/01 UR - http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/38/12/1154.abstract N2 - EMG activity was recorded in biceps and triceps while subjects voluntarily flexed their elbows during a visual matching task. With fast flexion, the initial EMG was characterized by a triphasic pattern with a burst of activity first in biceps, then in triceps with a silent period in biceps, and finally in biceps again; these components were analysed quantitatively. Smooth flexion was characterized by continuous activity in biceps. Inhibition of tonic activity of triceps in relation to a fast flexion occurred in the 50 ms before the initiation of biceps activity. A patients with a severe pansensory neuropathy performed normally on these tasks. Physiological mechanisms underlying these patterns are analysed; an important conclusion is that the triphasic activity with fast flexion is 'centrally programmed'. ER -