Evidence for complex system integration and dynamic neural regulation of skeletal muscle recruitment during exercise in humans.
A model is proposed in which the development of physical exhaustion is a relative rather than an absolute event and the sensation of fatigue is the sensory representation of the underlying neural integrative processes. Furthermore, activity is controlled as part of a pacing strategy involving active neural calculations in a "governor" region of the brain, which integrates internal sensory signals and information from the environment to produce a homoeostatically acceptable exercise intensity. The end point of the exercise bout is the controlling variable. This is an example of a complex, non-linear, dynamic system in which physiological systems interact to regulate activity before, during, and after the exercise bout.
St Clair Gibson
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Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, University of Cape Town, Newlands, South Africa. Agibson@sports.uct.ac.za <Agibson@sports.uct.ac.za>
Noakes
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D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance / Q000502:physiology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation* / Q000502:physiology; D011999:Recruitment, Neurophysiological / Q000502:physiology*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology