[The generator of locomotor activity as the probable modulator of the afferent flow from the thermoreceptors of the skin fields of the flexor and extensor muscles].

Abstract

The excitability of flexors and extensors of the upper and low extremities was studied in healthy people and in patients with spasticity during local thermostimulation of their receptive fields using H-reflex (HR). In healthy people the HR was inhibited during cooling and was enhanced during warming. Thermostimulation of the contralateral side caused a contraverse reaction. In patients cooling of skin followed the rise of HR. The obtained data show that the condition of the thermoreceptive fields can influence reflex excitability of motoneurons. The character of this influence depends on the initial condition of the locomotor generator.