Changes in alpha motoneuron excitability of the soleus muscle in relation to vestibular stimulation assessed by angular acceleration in man.
Variations in spinal motoneuron excitability, tested by the monosynaptic H reflex of the soleus muscle, were studied in man in relation to angular acceleration of the body in a damped rotating chair. Clockwise and anticlockwise rotation produced similar changes on the same spinal motoneurons, consisting of a first clear-cut facilitatory phase starting at 0.4 degrees of rotation (corresponding to 156 ms) with a peak between 10 and 30 degrees, followed by a second excitatory phase between 50 and 100 degrees; then, the amplitude of the H reflex progressively recovered to its control value. Both facilitatory phases showed a significant decrease by reducing the angular velocity and acceleration. Control experiments ruled out that both the startle reaction of the subject and variations in the somatosensory input during rotation could be responsible for generating the facilitatory effects on the H reflex. The mean value of the voluntary reaction to turning sensation was 1.1 degrees, corresponding to about 335 ms. It is concluded that the changes described in motoneuron excitability could represent a vestibulospinal reflex response originating from the horizontal semicircular canals.