Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: Transient effects in corticospinal and reticulospinal tract excitability induced by motor skill and isometric resistance training
doi: 10.1101/2025.05.21.655351
Figure Lengend Snippet: ( a ) TMS was applied to the left motor cortex to elicit MEPs in the right tibialis anterior. ( b ) NeuroNavigation setup for hotspot targeting. A custom-built Neuronavigation software, using infrared camera-based motion capture markers, tracked the position and orientation of a double-cone coil to consistently target the tibialis anterior hotspot before and after each training session. ( c ) Average MEP responses at rest before and after training for a representative participant (MS004) illustrate increases in response amplitude following motor skill training. ( d ) Corresponding recruitment curve of ( c ). MEP amplitudes increased across multiple TMS intensities (100%, 150%, 180%, 200%) after training. ( e ) Percent change in MEP amplitude during pre-activation and rest conditions. The left panel shows percent changes in MEP amplitude during the pre-activation condition (15% dorsiflexion), and the right panel shows percent changes during rest. Both plots represent group-level responses across all participants following motor skill and isometric resistance training. ( f ) Training-induced changes across evaluation conditions. MEP amplitude increases following both training protocols during specific conditions. Asterisks above the bars denote post-hoc paired Bonferroni-corrected significance values for interactions between training types and evaluation conditions: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, ‘n.s.’ p > 0.05. (Significant) ‘X’ markers below the plot in ( f ) indicate Bonferroni-corrected significant training effects within each condition of MEP percent change based on one-sample tests against µ = 0 (‘X’ p < 0.05, ‘XX’ p < 0.01, ‘n.s.’ p > 0.05).
Article Snippet: A custom-built NeuroNavigation software (Matlab 2020a, USA) integrated with Qualisys Track Manager (v2021.1, build 6350, Sweden) was used to identify and recall the right tibialis anterior activation hotspot at baseline and after training ( ).
Techniques: Software, Activation Assay