Stimulation magnétique transcrânienne: Application à la physiologie de l'exercice

Aims: This review describes the potential for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the field of exercise physiology. Included are descriptions of different parameters measured by TMS and methodological considerations. By examining the mechanical and electromyographical responses elicited by TMS, this review summarizes the corticospinal changes resulting from both acute fatiguing exercise bouts and chronic exercise (i.e. training programs) in healthy subjects.

Actualities: During a fatiguing task, TMS enables the development of supraspinal (i.e. at or upstream from the motor cortex) fatigue and changes in corticospinal excitability and inhibition to be detected. The observed corticospinal responses to fatigue are influenced by a number of factors including the muscle investigated (e.g. upper vs. lower limbs) and the type fatiguing exercise (i.e. single-joint vs. whole-body). Recent studies investigating chronic exercise adaptations with TMS have primarily demonstrated reduced intracortical inhibition after a strength-training intervention.

Perspectives and prospects: Future studies must combine TMS with other neuromuscular investigation techniques in order to differentiate between cortical and spinal components of neuromuscular fatigue. It is also important to determine if the supraspinal component of fatigue that develops during prolonged exercise can be reduced through physical training.