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Journal Article

Citation

Castellote JM, Queralt A, Valls-Solé J. J. Neurophysiol. 2012; 108(9): 2501-2508.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Physiological Society)

DOI

10.1152/jn.01111.2011

PMID

22896726

Abstract

A startling auditory stimulus (SAS) causes a faster execution of voluntary actions when applied together with the imperative signal in reaction time tasks (the StartReact effect). However, speeding up reaction time may not be the best strategy in all tasks. After a self-initiated fall, the programme for landing has to be time locked to foot contact to avoid damage and, therefore, advanced execution of the programme would not be convenient. We examined the effects of SAS on the landing motor programme in 8 healthy subjects that were requested to let themselves fall from platforms at either 50 or 80 cm high at the perception of a visual imperative signal and land on specific targets. In trials at random, SAS was applied either together with the imperative signal (SAS(IS)) or at an appropriate pre-landing time (SAS(PL)). As expected, the latency of take-off was significantly shortened in SAS(IS) trials. On the contrary, the timing of foot contact was not significantly different when comparing SAS(PL) with control trials. No changes were observed in the size of the EMG bursts in the two experimental conditions with respect to the control condition. Our results indicate that the landing programme after self-initiated fall may in part be organized at take-off and involve precise information on timing of muscle activation. Once launched, the program is protected against interferences by external inputs.


Language: en

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