Fine, rapid twitching of individual muscle fibers with little or no movement of the muscle as a whole as ascertained by electromyography (EMG). If a motor neuron or its axon is destroyed, the muscle fibers it innervates undergo denervation atrophy. This leads to hypersensitivity of individual muscle fibers to acetyl choline so that they may contract spontaneously. Isolated activity of individual muscle fibers is generally so fine it cannot be seen through the intact skin, although it can be recorded as a short-duration spike in the EMG.