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Classical conditioning of postural reflexes.

F P Kolb1, S Lachauer, M Maschke

  • 1Institute of Physiology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Pettenkoferstrasse 12, 80336 Munich, Germany. u7224ah@mail.lrz-muenchen.de

Pflugers Archiv : European Journal of Physiology
|November 29, 2002
PubMed
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Classical conditioning can alter postural reflexes. This study found that an auditory cue paired with a tilting platform led to different muscle response strategies in subjects, influencing body equilibrium control.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biomechanics
  • Human Motor Control

Background:

  • Compensatory postural reflexes are crucial for maintaining body equilibrium against external perturbations.
  • Typically, these reflex patterns show minimal changes even with repeated disturbances.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if classical conditioning can modify human postural reflex patterns.
  • To explore the underlying mechanisms of altered postural adjustments.

Main Methods:

  • 27 healthy subjects stood on a tilting platform (unconditioned stimulus, US).
  • Electromyographic (EMG) activity and ground forces (center of vertical pressure, CVP) were recorded.
  • A classical conditioning paradigm paired an auditory signal (conditioning stimulus, CS) with the platform tilt.

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Main Results:

  • Two distinct strategies emerged: 22% of subjects showed conditioned responses (CR) in all recorded muscles, maintaining similar CVP excursions.
  • The remaining subjects developed CR only in the gastrocnemius muscle, with significant unconditioned response (UR) decay and reduced CVP excursions.
  • Conditioning altered the decay of UR amplitudes in specific muscles like the anterior tibialis (TA).

Conclusions:

  • Classical conditioning can induce different strategies for postural adjustment.
  • These strategies involve assumed underlying associative and non-associative neural plasticity.
  • The findings highlight the brain's ability to modify fundamental reflex responses through learning.