I've also read something like that, I think there is a link somewhere around the forums, but i'm too lazy now to search for it maybe later.

And about the pushups, I don't think you can actually build up muscle's, but if your brain send those signal's then you can be more used to the feeling of using your muscle's and thus you will be able to push your limits, even if you didn't get actually stronger.
But maybe we should stick to the old way --> do pushups in real world