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Ia afferents of the antagonist are inhibited presynaptically before the onset of a ballistic muscle contraction in man

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Summary

The aim of the present investigation was to study whether the pre-movement inhibition of the H reflex in the antagonist of a ballistic voluntary contraction was due to a reduced activity of the motoneuronal pool of the antagonist, or to a reduced excitatory effect of the afferent volley reaching these motoneurons. Human subjects performed visually conditioned ballistic dorsal flexions of the ankle. The inhibition of the H reflex in the antagonist (soleus muscle) was similar if the muscle was initially relaxed or if there was a preexisting level of motor discharge. Since the soleus muscle was inhibited before movement onset in parallel with the H reflex inhibition, the relation between the level of a background activity and the size of superimposed H reflexes was studied. The finding that H reflexes were only slightly reduced in size with decreasing steady EMG levels could not explain the pre-movement inhibition, and it was concluded than an increased presynaptic inhibition of Ia terminals was the source of the H reflex inhibition.

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  1. Institute of Physiology, University of Fribourg, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland

    D. G. Ruegg

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  1. D. G. Ruegg
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Ruegg, D.G. Ia afferents of the antagonist are inhibited presynaptically before the onset of a ballistic muscle contraction in man. Exp Brain Res 74, 663–666 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00247372

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00247372

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