The Effect of Eccentric Contractions on the Brain Waves Characteristics: A Systematic Review

A growing body of evidence indicates that different neural control strategies may exist for human contractions. This brief systematic review focuses on the specificity of the control strategy used by the central nervous system during eccentric contractions. The findings of previous studies indicate the effects of eccentric exercise on cortical regions and their cooperation as functional networks that support motor functions. Articles were searched in international databases including PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. After initial screening and deleting irrelevant studies, 10 studies were chosen for the analysis. Studies were assessed and analyzed methodologically. Proper interventions were selected according to the least error criteria or the degree of strength. There is lack of study investigating the effects of muscle contraction types (isometric, concentric and eccentric) on the central nervous system, which is reflected in the EEG. Then, further investigations should answer this question: “how does the EEG-measured brain activity for the following bands (delta 1-4 Hz, theta 4-8 Hz, alpha 8-13 Hz and beta 13-20 Hz) change during acute eccentric and concentric contractions”. Moreover, this review highlighted that (1) Few neuroimaging studies have explored the brain activation during eccentric actions, (2) Brain activity in motor-related cortices is higher during eccentric than concentric actions and (3) Prefrontal cortex appears to be highly involved in the regulation of cortical motor drive during eccentric contractions.