Functional State of the Cortical-Spinal Tract and Motor-Cognitive Reactions of Athletes Who Train Speed, Endurance, and Coordination of Movement

Abstract: The aim of the study was to research the cortical-spinal excitability and conducting ability of the motor system using muscle potentials caused by magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex of the brain and spinal segments at the level of the C6–C7 and T12–L1 vertebrae in athletes of different specializations, and to correlate these parameters with psychophysiological characteristics. The research revealed: (1) the distance runners had the highest level of excitability of cortical neurons and motor neurons of the cervical and lumbar thickenings of the spinal cord, controlling the activity of the shoulder, forearm, hip, and shin muscles; the sprinters had the lowest level, while that of the basketball players was in between; (2) the sprinters and the basketball players displayed the highest conductive capacity of the corticospinal tract (CST), the distance runners had the lowest; (3) sprinters and basketball players had a higher rate of simple and complex sensorimotor reactions as an indicator of neuromotor (lability and mobility of the nervous system) and cognitive processes than distance runners; (4) basketball players had the highest accuracy of complex sensorimotor reactions and the ability to anticipate the course of events as a sign of cognitive success than other athletes; and (5) cortical-spinal excitability positively correlated with the accuracy of movements (in basketball players) and negatively with the conductive ability of the CST and the speed of simple and complex sensorimotor reactions (in sprinters and distance runners). Athletes who train speed, endurance, and coordination of movement have distinctive features and the relationship between the functional state of the CST and motor-cognitive reactions. © 2023, Pleiades Publishing, Inc.