ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Motor Neuroscience
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1648245
Comparison of the Reticulospinal drive to Lumbar Erector Spinae Muscles in Postural and Voluntary Tasks using the StartReact paradigm
Provisionally accepted
Jeremy Pouliot1Janie Provencher2,3Amira Cherif1,4
Mikaël Desmons1,5
Andréanne Sharp1,6
Philippe Fournier1,4Edith Lorena Elgueta Cancino7
Shin-Yi Chiou8,9
Hugo Massé-Alarie1,4*- 1Laval University, Quebec, Canada
- 2University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- 3Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Australia
- 4Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en readaptation et integration sociale, Québec City, Canada
- 5Universite de Limoges, Limoges, France
- 6Centre de Recherche CERVO, Québec City, Canada
- 7Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile
- 8University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- 9University of Birmingham School of Sport Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, Birmingham, United Kingdom
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While lesion and neurophysiological animal studies point toward a notable involvement of subcortical pathways in the control of low back muscles, little attention has been dedicated to the subject in humans. The StartReact paradigm may allow to indirectly test the potential contribution of the reticulospinal system during motor control, thus addressing this gap of knowledge. In this study, we aimed to compare the potential contribution of the reticulospinal system in the control of low back muscles during voluntary (lumbar spine extension) and postural (upper limb movement eliciting anticipatory postural adjustment) tasks using the StartReact paradigm. The reaction time (RT) of the lumbar erector spinae was measured within a simple precued RT task while conditioned by startling (SAS – 116 dB) or non-startling (NSAS – 80 dB) acoustic stimuli. The reduction in RT was similar during the postural and voluntary tasks. However, RT was more shortened with the SAS condition compared to the NSAS condition in both tasks. This finding was replicated using a cumulative distribution functions analysis. For the first time, a StartReact effect of back muscles was demonstrated during a voluntary task and was shown to be similar to that observed in a postural task. Therefore, these results suggest a contribution of the reticulospinal tract in the postural and voluntary control of back muscles in humans.
Keywords: StartReact, reticulospinal, Erector spinae, Postural control, Voluntary Control
Received: 16 Jun 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pouliot, Provencher, Cherif, Desmons, Sharp, Fournier, Elgueta Cancino, Chiou and Massé-Alarie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hugo Massé-Alarie, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
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