Changes in the recruitment threshold of motor units produced by cutaneous stimulation in man.

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Abstract
The effect of cutaneous stimulation on the recruitment of motor units was studied during slowly increasing voluntary contractions of human 1st dorsal interosseous muscle. Continuous electrical stimulation of the index finger at 4 .times. threshold for perception caused an increase in the recruitment threshold of units normally recruited at contraction strengths < 1.5 N and a decrease in the recruitment threshold of units normally recruited at contraction of units normally recruited at contraction strengths > 1.5 N. It is concluded that the recruitment order of motor units during gradually increasing voluntary muscle contraction is not fixed, but depends in part on cutaneous input.