The study of the neuromuscular system by means of electromyography: development and fundamentals of a data acquisition system and studies realized], Episteme, 1: 139-182.

Electromyography (EMG) is a method for studying neuromuscular activity with multiple applications in the research of the human motor behavior. The main objective of this chapter is to characterize this experimental technique of muscle activity observation and to provide some examples of its application in the study of the macroscopic functioning of human muscle. We start with the physiological basis of EMG and with a generic characterization of the main aspects of data acquisition and signal processing of the EMG signal. We will then discuss a fundamental aspect in understanding the nature of EMG, namely the relation between the force produced in the muscle and its electromechanical output. In a following point, an experimental study of running is presented. In this study, a model is presented to calculate, using EMG data, the force produced by a particular muscle of interest, i.e., the m. triceps surae and to estimate the interarticular transfer forces from the hip to knee joints. The last section is dedicated to the use of EMG to characterize the relation between agonist and antagonist in rapid movements, which represents some essential aspects of muscular coordination in the movements of the upper extremity.