ReviewJournal of neurophysiology2018
Muscle coactivation: definitions, mechanisms, and functions.
Review in Journal of neurophysiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 139 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
139 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Characteristics of Lower Extremity Kinematics, Kinetics, and Muscle Activity in Individuals With Chronic Ankle Instability During Landing With Expected and Unexpected Inversion Perturbations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2025Pooled it
- Instability core trainingPeerJ · 2025Pooled it
- Antagonistic muscular co-contraction for skilled, healthy piano technique: a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Passive Stretching and Explosive Jumps Acutely Reduce Spinal Reflex Excitability and Alter Sit-To-Stand Biomechanics in Active Adults.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2026Trial
- The effects of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function and aerobic capacity in sedentary adolescents: A single-blind randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Eight-week lat pull-down resistance training with joint instability leads to superior pull-up endurance performance and reduced antagonist coactivation in recreationally active male college students.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
- Surface-Electromyography-Based Co-Contraction Index for Monitoring Upper Limb Improvements in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial Secondary Analysis.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Trial
- An Exploratory Analysis of Postural Stability in Acrobatic Shoulder-Stand Pyramids Using Inertial Sensors: The Interplay of Top-Athlete's Variations and Base-Athlete's Stance Configurations.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Acute Effects of High-Speed Repetitive Loading on Achilles Tendon Viscoelasticity and Ankle Agonist-Antagonist Co-Contraction: A Combined MyotonPRO and Surface Electromyography Analysis in Male Collegiate American Football Players.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Muscle coactivation-inspired stiffness-driven control strategy for antagonistic soft robots.Science advances · 2026Article
- Shoulder Kinematic and Muscle Activity Compensations to Scapular Stabilizer Weakness: An Optimal Control Framework.Annals of biomedical engineering · 2026Article
- Mental tasks induce common modulations of oscillations in cortex and spinal cord.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Hypertrophic Effects of Single- versus Multi-Joint Exercise: A Direct Comparison between Knee Extension and Leg Press.Medicine and science in sports and exercise · 2026Article
- Layer-by-layer soft-tissue effects on flexion-extension-dominant passive ex vivo limb joint ROM in quadrupedal mammals: An anatomical contribution to a morphofunctional framework.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Effects of Pre-Competition Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Activation on Forward Lunge Performance and Neuromuscular Control in Squash Athletes: An Analysis Based on Timing and Electromyographic Sensors.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Reproducibility of a Shear Wave Elastography Procedure for Assessing the Piriformis Muscle Stiffness in a Sample of Healthy Young Adults Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions: An Intra- and Inter-Examiner Reliability Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Co-Contraction Training Induces Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength Gains in Older Adults: A Controlled Intervention Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Biomechanical analysis of the tucked front somersault on vault among elite junior female gymnasts.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Sport Expertise and Twitch-Derived Agonist-Antagonist Contractile Ratio in Karate Athletes.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Increasing the cognitive demand of upper-limb psychomotor tasks increases the perception of effort.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
79 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
The phenomenon of agonist-antagonist muscle coactivation is discussed with respect to its consequences for movement mechanics (such as increasing joint apparent stiffness, facilitating faster movements, and effects on action stability), implication for movement optimization, and involvement of different neurophysiological structures. Effects of coactivation on movement stability are ambiguous and depend on the effector representing a kinematic chain with a fixed origin or free origin. Furthermore, coactivation is discussed within the framework of the equilibrium-point hypothesis and the idea of hierarchical control with spatial referent coordinates. Relations of muscle coactivation to changes in one of the basic commands, the c-command, are discussed and illustrated. A hypothesis is suggested that agonist-antagonist coactivation reflects a deliberate neural control strategy to preserve effector-level control and avoid making it degenerate and facing the necessity to control at the level of signals to individual muscles. This strategy, in particular, allows stabilizing motor actions by covaried adjustments in spaces of control variables. This hypothesis is able to account for higher levels of coactivation in young healthy persons performing challenging tasks and across various populations with movement impairments.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.