Muscular after-contraction and ongoing postural reactions in standing and sitting humans.

Muscular after-contraction (MA-C) and the ongoing postural reaction of the body was studied in standing and sitting subjects in two visual situations: eyes open or closed. EMG of trapezius and latissimus dorsalis and 3D kinematic recordings of the left scapula were analysed. The release of the long-lasting sustained isometric contraction at the level of the scapula produced a muscular after-contraction consisting of involuntary muscular contraction associated with a trunk movement similar to the unroll of a spiral. The unroll of the spiral is in the opposite direction when we compare the standing and sitting situations. We suppose that the muscular after-contraction reveals the activity of central tonigenic structures in evoking involuntary trunk movements in humans and stresses the importance of the initial postural situation (standing or sitting) and the visual condition in the characteristics of these involuntary movements.