Bipedal Reflex Coordination to Tactile Stimulation of the Sural Nerve During Human Running. Tax, M., B. M. H. Van Wezel, and V. Dietz. Department of Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Nijmegen, 6525 EZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands; and Department of Clinical Neurology and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, D-7800 Freiburg, Germany.
APStracts 2:0043N, 1995.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
1. Cutaneous reflex responses were elicited during human running (8 km/h) on a treadmill by electrical stimulation of the sural nerve at the ankle. Stimulus trains (5 pulses of 1 ms at 200 Hz) at three nonnociceptive intensities, which were 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 times perception threshold (PT), were delivered at 16 phases of the step cycle. For 11 subjects the surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of both the ipsilateral and contralateral long head of the biceps femoris (iBF and cBF, respectively), the semitendinosus (iST and cST), the rectus femoris (iRF and cRF), and the tibialis anterior (iTA and cTA) were recorded. 2. During human running, nonnociceptive sural nerve stimulation appears to be sufficient to elicit large, widespread and statistically significant reflex responses, with a latency of _80 ms and a duration of _30 ms. These reflex responses seem to be an elementary property of human locomotion. This is indicated by the occurrence of the responses in all subjects, the consistency of most of the reflex patterns across the subjects and, apart from a small amount of habituation, the reproducibility of the responses during the course of the experiment. 3. The responses are modulated continuously throughout the step cycle such that their magnitude does not in general covary with the background locomotor activities. This is observed most clearly in iST, iTA, and cTA for which statistically significant reflex reversals are demonstrated, and in cRF and cTA for which the responses are gated during most of the step cycle. 4. The response magnitude generally increases as a function of increasing intensity, whereas the phase-dependent reflex modulation is intensity independent. 5. A functional dissociation within the ipsilateral hamstring muscles is demonstrated: the iBF and iST show an antagonistic reflex pattern (facilitatory and suppressive, respectively) during the periods of synergistic background locomotor activity in the step cycle. Contralaterally, however, the cBF and cST are reflexively activated as close synergists during these periods. 6. The reflex responses and their phase-dependent modulation are different for the homologous muscles in the two legs. Yet, some similarities are observed. These are present rather with respect to the phase of the corresponding leg than with respect to the phase of the stimulated leg. Both observations suggest that the phase-dependent reflex modulation is controlled separately in the ipsilateral and contralateral legs. 7. The response simultaneity in all investigated muscles supports the notion of a coordinated cutaneous interlimb reflex during human running. This reflex coordination is intensity independent (within the range of nonnociceptive stimulation) and different from the locomotor coordination. The possible functional significance underlying the bipedal reflex coordination is discussed. It is suggested that tactile cutaneous feedback may be used to move the perturbed leg away from the stimulus, with the general constraint of preserving both the cadence and the balance at all times during the step cycle. The contralateral responses are thought to play an important, supportive role in promoting a smooth transition between these potentially conflicting requirements. 

Received 18 April 1994; accepted in final form 9 January 1995.
APS Manuscript Number J197-4.
Article publication pending J. Neurophysiol.
ISSN 1080-4757 Copyright 1995 The American Physiological Society.
Published in APStracts on  3 April 1995.