Is spinal excitability of the triceps surae mainly affected by muscle activity or body position?

The aim of this study was to determine how muscle activity and body orientation contribute to the triceps surae spinal transmission modulation, when moving from a sitting to a standing position. Maximal Hoffmann-reflex (H-max) and motor potential (M-max) were evoked in the soleus (SOL), medial and lateral gastrocnemius in 10 male subjects and in three conditions, passive sitting, active sitting and upright standing, with the same SOL activity in active sitting and upright standing. Moreover volitional wave (V) was evoked in the two active conditions (i.e., active sitting and upright standing). The results showed that SOL H-max/M-max was lower in active sitting than in passive sitting, while for the gastrocnemii it was not significantly altered. For the three plantar flexors, H-max/M-max was lower in upright standing than in active sitting, whereas V/M-max was not modulated. SOL H-reflex is therefore affected by the increase in muscle activity and change in body orientation, while, in the gastrocnemii, it was only affected by a change in posture. In conclusion, passing from a sitting to a standing position affects the H-max/M-max of the whole triceps surae, but the mechanisms responsible for this change differ among the synergist muscles. The V/M-max does not change when upright stance is assumed. This means that the increased inhibitory activity in orthostatic position is compensated by an increased excitatory inflow to the alpha-motoneurons of central and/or peripheral origin.