Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect
There has been much debate concerning whether startling sensory stimuli can activate a fast-neural pathway for movement triggering (StartReact) which is different from that of voluntary movements. Activity in sternocleidomastoid (SCM) electromyogram is suggested to indicate activation of this pathwa...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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WILEY
2021
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| Online Access: | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85133 |
| _version_ | 1848764718560313344 |
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| author | McInnes, Aaron Nicholas Castellote, J.M. Kofler, M. Honeycutt, C.F. Lipp, Ottmar Riek, S. Tresilian, J.R. Marinovic, Welber |
| author_facet | McInnes, Aaron Nicholas Castellote, J.M. Kofler, M. Honeycutt, C.F. Lipp, Ottmar Riek, S. Tresilian, J.R. Marinovic, Welber |
| author_sort | McInnes, Aaron Nicholas |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | There has been much debate concerning whether startling sensory stimuli can activate a fast-neural pathway for movement triggering (StartReact) which is different from that of voluntary movements. Activity in sternocleidomastoid (SCM) electromyogram is suggested to indicate activation of this pathway. We evaluated whether SCM activity can accurately identify trials which may differ in their neurophysiological triggering and assessed the use of cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of reaction time (RT) data to identify trials with the shortest RTs for analysis. Using recent data sets from the StartReact literature, we examined the relationship between RT and SCM activity. We categorised data into short/longer RT bins using CDFs and used linear mixed-effects models to compare potential conclusions that can be drawn when categorising data on the basis of RT versus on the basis of SCM activity. The capacity of SCM to predict RT is task-specific, making it an unreliable indicator of distinct neurophysiological mechanisms. Classification of trials using CDFs is capable of capturing potential task- or muscle-related differences in triggering whilst avoiding the pitfalls of the traditional SCM activity-based classification method. We conclude that SCM activity is not always evident on trials that show the early triggering of movements seen in the StartReact phenomenon. We further propose that a more comprehensive analysis of data may be achieved through the inclusion of CDF analyses. These findings have implications for future research investigating movement triggering as well as for potential therapeutic applications of StartReact. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:23:49Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-85133 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T11:23:49Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | WILEY |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-851332021-09-17T00:12:51Z Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect McInnes, Aaron Nicholas Castellote, J.M. Kofler, M. Honeycutt, C.F. Lipp, Ottmar Riek, S. Tresilian, J.R. Marinovic, Welber Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Neurosciences Neurosciences & Neurology motor control muscle reaction time startle StartReact effect sternocleidomastoid STARTLING ACOUSTIC STIMULUS REACTION-TIME INTENSITY MOVEMENTS RESPONSES PERTURBATIONS FACILITATION DISTINCT RELEASE HEALTHY There has been much debate concerning whether startling sensory stimuli can activate a fast-neural pathway for movement triggering (StartReact) which is different from that of voluntary movements. Activity in sternocleidomastoid (SCM) electromyogram is suggested to indicate activation of this pathway. We evaluated whether SCM activity can accurately identify trials which may differ in their neurophysiological triggering and assessed the use of cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) of reaction time (RT) data to identify trials with the shortest RTs for analysis. Using recent data sets from the StartReact literature, we examined the relationship between RT and SCM activity. We categorised data into short/longer RT bins using CDFs and used linear mixed-effects models to compare potential conclusions that can be drawn when categorising data on the basis of RT versus on the basis of SCM activity. The capacity of SCM to predict RT is task-specific, making it an unreliable indicator of distinct neurophysiological mechanisms. Classification of trials using CDFs is capable of capturing potential task- or muscle-related differences in triggering whilst avoiding the pitfalls of the traditional SCM activity-based classification method. We conclude that SCM activity is not always evident on trials that show the early triggering of movements seen in the StartReact phenomenon. We further propose that a more comprehensive analysis of data may be achieved through the inclusion of CDF analyses. These findings have implications for future research investigating movement triggering as well as for potential therapeutic applications of StartReact. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85133 10.1111/ejn.14973 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001 WILEY fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Neurosciences Neurosciences & Neurology motor control muscle reaction time startle StartReact effect sternocleidomastoid STARTLING ACOUSTIC STIMULUS REACTION-TIME INTENSITY MOVEMENTS RESPONSES PERTURBATIONS FACILITATION DISTINCT RELEASE HEALTHY McInnes, Aaron Nicholas Castellote, J.M. Kofler, M. Honeycutt, C.F. Lipp, Ottmar Riek, S. Tresilian, J.R. Marinovic, Welber Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect |
| title | Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect |
| title_full | Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect |
| title_fullStr | Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect |
| title_short | Cumulative distribution functions: An alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the StartReact effect |
| title_sort | cumulative distribution functions: an alternative approach to examine the triggering of prepared motor actions in the startreact effect |
| topic | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Neurosciences Neurosciences & Neurology motor control muscle reaction time startle StartReact effect sternocleidomastoid STARTLING ACOUSTIC STIMULUS REACTION-TIME INTENSITY MOVEMENTS RESPONSES PERTURBATIONS FACILITATION DISTINCT RELEASE HEALTHY |
| url | http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102001 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85133 |