Spindle activity and monosynaptic reflex excitability during foreperiod.

Healthy volunteers were instructed to perform an isometric plantar foot flexion as quickly as possible after a foreperiod (FP) of 1000 msec defined by two clicks (warning signal (WS) and response signal (RS). In 6 volunteers the H reflex was evoked in triceps surae muscle and recorded by surface electrodes (stimulus intensity 30% of maximum). The H reflex was elicited at WS and RS as well as during FP at intervals of 100 msec. H reflex amplitudes were taken as a sign of monosynaptic reflex excitability (MSRE). Amplitudes during FP were compared with the average control values at rest. Relaxation of lower limb muscles before and during FP was controlled by EMG. MSRE was increased in the first part of FP with a maximum at 300 msec after WS and decreased in the second part, with a minimum at 800 msec after WS. In a second series of experiments, in 10 volunteers, single fiber activity from primary muscle spindle afferents was recorded with tungsten electrodes from deep peroneal nerve (6 records) and from tibial nerve (3 records). The activity of primary spindle afferents before and during the FP was calculated by instantaneous discharge frequency and histograms of spike distribution. The EMG was taken from sural triceps and anterior tibial muscles with needle electrodes; a mechanogram of tendon deflection was taken by an appropriate strain gauge. In 5 primary afferents without spontaneous activity at rest and during FP, discharge started with a delay of 10-15 msec after the onset of EMG activity during the motor reaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)