Cutaneous reflexes of the human leg during passive movement.

1. Four experiments tested the hypothesis that movement-induced discharge of somatosensory receptors attenuates cutaneous reflexes in the human lower limb. In the first experiment, cutaneous reflexes were evoked in the isometrically contracting tibialis anterior muscle (TA) by a train of stimuli to the tibial nerve at the ankle.

Generalisability of sensory gating during passive movement of the legs.

Movement-related gating of somatosensory evoked potentials in the upper limb is restricted mainly to nerve stimulation supplying the moved limb segment. In the lower limb, this principle may not be followed. Tibial nerve (stimulation at the knee) somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and soleus H reflexes exhibit quite similar patterns of modulation during movement.

Modulation of H reflexes in human tibialis anterior muscle with passive movement.

Significant movement-induced gain changes in H reflexes have been observed in soleus muscle following passive movement of the lower limb. Hypotheses from these concepts were tested on magnitudes of H reflexes in tonically contracted tibialis anterior. From eleven subjects at rates of 20 and 60 r.

Phasic modulation of somatosensory potentials during passive movement.

Tibial nerve somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) amplitude modulates to passive stretch of leg extensors with movement, paralleling spinal reflex modulation. We therefore hypothesized that SEP amplitude is phasically attenuated during flexion in passive pedalling. SEPs and soleus H reflexes were evoked at four phase positions when the leg was static and passively moved.