Experts, but not novices, exhibit StartReact indicating experts use the reticulospinal system more than novices.

The objective of this study was to evaluate how reticulospinal contributions are modulated by task expertise. Reticulospinal contributions were assessed using StartReact (SR). We hypothesized that expert typists would show SR during an individuated, keystroke task but SR would be absent in novices. Expert (75.2 ± 9.8 WPM) and novice typists (41.6 ± 8.2 WPM) were evaluated during an individuated, keystroke movements. In experts, SR was present but was absent in novices. Together, these results suggest that experts use reticulospinal contributions more for movement than novices indicating that the reticular formation becomes increasingly important for movement execution in highly trained, skilled tasks even those that require individuated movement of the fingers. PMID: 32107985 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Motor Behavior - Category: Neurology Tags: J Mot Behav Source Type: research