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Pharmacological blockade of muscle afferents and perception of effort: a systematic review with meta-analysis

View ORCID ProfileMaxime Bergevin, View ORCID ProfileJames Steele, Marie Payen de la Garanderie, View ORCID ProfileCamille Feral-Basin, View ORCID ProfileSamuele M. Marcora, View ORCID ProfilePierre Rainville, View ORCID ProfileJeffrey G. Caron, View ORCID ProfileBenjamin Pageaux
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.23.474027
Maxime Bergevin
1École de kinésiologie et des sciences de l’activité physique (EKSAP), Faculté de médecine, Montreal, Canada
2Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, Canada
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  • ORCID record for Maxime Bergevin
James Steele
3School of Sport, Health and Social Sciences, Southampton, United Kingdom
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Marie Payen de la Garanderie
1École de kinésiologie et des sciences de l’activité physique (EKSAP), Faculté de médecine, Montreal, Canada
2Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, Canada
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Camille Feral-Basin
1École de kinésiologie et des sciences de l’activité physique (EKSAP), Faculté de médecine, Montreal, Canada
2Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, Canada
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Samuele M. Marcora
4Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences (DiBiNeM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Pierre Rainville
2Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, Canada
5Département de stomatologie, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
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Jeffrey G. Caron
1École de kinésiologie et des sciences de l’activité physique (EKSAP), Faculté de médecine, Montreal, Canada
6Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire en réadaptation du Montréal métropolitain, Montreal, Canada
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Benjamin Pageaux
1École de kinésiologie et des sciences de l’activité physique (EKSAP), Faculté de médecine, Montreal, Canada
2Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM), Montreal, Canada
7Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche sur le cerveau et l’apprentissage (CIRCA), Montréal, Canada
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  • For correspondence: benjamin.pageaux@umontreal.ca
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Abstract

Background The perception of effort (PE) provides information on task difficulty and influences physical exercise regulation and human behavior. This perception differs from other-exercise related perceptions such as pain. There is no consensus on the role of group III-IV muscle afferents as a signal processed by the brain to generate PE.

Objective The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of pharmacologically blocking muscle afferents on the PE.

Methods Six databases were searched to identify studies measuring the ratings of perceived effort (RPE) during physical exercise, with and without pharmacological blockade of muscle afferents. Articles were coded based on the operational measurement used to distinguish studies in which PE was assessed specifically (effort dissociated) or as a composite experience including other exercise-related perceptions (effort not dissociated). Articles that did not provide enough information for coding were assigned to the unclear group.

Results The effort dissociated group (n=6) demonstrated a slight RPE increase with reduced muscle afferents feedback (standard mean change raw (SMCR), 0.39; 95%CI, 0.13 to 0.64). The group effort not dissociated (n=2) did not reveal conclusive results (SMCR, −0.29; 95%CI, −2.39 to 1.8). The group unclear (n=8) revealed a slight RPE decrease with reduced muscle afferents feedback (SMCR, −0.27; 95%CI, −0.50 to −0.04).

Conclusions The heterogeneity in results between groups reveals that the inclusion of perceptions other than effort in its rating influences the RPE scores reported by the participants. The absence of decreased RPE in the effort dissociated group suggests that muscle afferents feedback is not a sensory signal of PE.

Key points

  • To date, there is no consensus on the neurophysiological signal processed by the brain to generate the perception of effort.

  • Following a systematic search in six databases, this meta-analysis suggests that reducing afferent feedback from the working muscles via epidural anesthesia does not reduce perception of effort.

  • This systematic review suggests that afferent feedback from the working muscles is not the neurophysiological signal processed by the brain to generate the perception of effort.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Modifications from the previous version are in red.

  • https://osf.io/cy5n4/

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted April 30, 2022.
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Pharmacological blockade of muscle afferents and perception of effort: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Maxime Bergevin, James Steele, Marie Payen de la Garanderie, Camille Feral-Basin, Samuele M. Marcora, Pierre Rainville, Jeffrey G. Caron, Benjamin Pageaux
bioRxiv 2021.12.23.474027; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.23.474027
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Pharmacological blockade of muscle afferents and perception of effort: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Maxime Bergevin, James Steele, Marie Payen de la Garanderie, Camille Feral-Basin, Samuele M. Marcora, Pierre Rainville, Jeffrey G. Caron, Benjamin Pageaux
bioRxiv 2021.12.23.474027; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.23.474027

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