Modulation of vastus medialis motoneuronal excitability by sciatic nerve afferents

✍ Scribed by Josep Valls-Solé; Mark Hallett; Joaquim Brasil-Neto

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 104 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0148-639X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4598(199807)21:7<936::aid-mus12>3.0.co;2-o

✦ Synopsis

We activated the sciatic nerve afferents by either the discharge of a magnetic coil or a needle inserted near the nerve. Both types of stimulation induced facilitation of the vastus medialis (VM) H reflex, and of the VM response to transcranial magnetic stimulation, at the joint time of arrival of conditioning and test volleys, while a subsequent inhibition was induced only in the H reflex. We conclude that sciatic nerve afferents induce reciprocal inhibition of VM motoneurons presynaptically on the Ia afferent terminals.