Strength-trained adults demonstrate greater corticoreticular activation versus untrained controls

Abstract

The rapid increase in strength following strength-training involves neural adaptations, however, their specific localisation remains elusive. Prior focus on corticospinal responses prompts this study to explore the understudied cortical/subcortical adaptations, particularly cortico-reticulospinal tract responses, comparing healthy strength-trained adults to untrained peers. Fifteen chronically strength-trained individuals (≥2 years of training, mean age: 24 ± 7 years) were compared with 11 age-matched untrained participants (mean age: 26 ± 8 years). Assessments included maximal voluntary force (MVF), corticospinal excitability using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), spinal excitability (cervicomedullary stimulation), voluntary activation (VA) and reticulospinal tract (RST) excitability, utilizing StartReact responses and ipsilateral motor-evoked potentials (iMEPs) for the flexor carpi radialis muscle. Trained participants had higher normalized MVF (6.4 ± 1.1 N/kg) than the untrained participants (4.8 ± 1.3 N/kg) (p =.003). Intracortical facilitation was higher in the strength-trained group (156 ± 49%) (p =.02), along with greater VA (98 ± 3.2%) (p =.002). The strength-trained group displayed reduced short-interval-intracortical inhibition (88 ± 8.0%) compared with the untrained group (69 ± 17.5%) (p