Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 European Journal of Applied Physiology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04081-1 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Associations between sensorimotor gating mechanisms and athletic performance in a variety of physical conditioning tests Sebastian Hormigo 1,6  · Antonio Cardoso 1,2,3  · Consuelo Sancho 1,2,4  · Dolores E. López 1,2,5  · Carlos Moreno 1,3,7 Received: 7 June 2018 / Accepted: 17 January 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Purpose The elite athlete is fne-tuned all around to deliver favorable results in sporting events. In this study, we address the question of whether basic movements—such as refexes—and heterogeneous attentional modulation components—such as sensorimotor gating mechanisms—are also tuned up to maximize the results of middle-distance runners in physical condi- tioning tests. Methods We selected an array of professional middle-distance runners and healthy counterparts that were submitted to measurement of (1) physical conditioning parameters, including somatotype, jump, strength, and fexibility tests; and (2) sensorimotor gating mechanisms, including acoustic startle refex, prepulse inhibition, and habituation. Results Our results showed athletes scored better on the athletic tests compared to controls, as expected. They also exhibited a lower startle amplitude, while maintaining higher prepulse inhibition values. They reacted faster to the acoustic stimuli, and sex-related diferences—found in controls—were not present in athletes. Our data also pointed out to substantial cor- relations between sensorimotor gating and physical conditioning parameters. Conclusions All in all, these data may point to physical conditioning-driven neural plasticity of brain sensorimotor gating circuits in charge of triggering involuntary movements to harness control and efciency over refexed muscle activity. Keywords Anthropometric measurement · Biological adaptations · Bosco jump test · Fitness · Habituation · Humans · Prepulse inhibition · Startle refex Abbreviations ASR Acoustic startle refex BMI Body mass index CMJ Counter-movement jump DJ Drop jump EMG Electromyography PPI Prepulse inhibition SJ Squat jump Introduction There is a growing interest in sports science and applied physiology about the nature of the biological processes that underlie the elite athlete (Dawes et al. 2016; Donnelly et al. 2016; Helms et al. 2016; Molina et al. 2016). Their practical preparation develops functional and physiological processes that improve performance during competition. The integra- tion of multiple felds of science is required to elucidate Communicated by Toshio Moritani. * Sebastian Hormigo sebifsio@gmail.com * Carlos Moreno moreno@usal.es 1 Institute for Neuroscience of Castilla y Leon (INCYL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain 2 Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain 3 Department of Nursing and Physical Therapy, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain 4 Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain 5 Department of Cell Biology and Pathology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain 6 Present Address: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA 7 Area de Fisioterapia E.U. DE ENFERMERÍA Y FISIOTERAPIA, Calle del Donante de Sangre, s/n Campus Universitario “Miguel de Unamuno”, 37007 Salamanca, Spain