Healthy VolunteersRenfoRSNCT07831382
Contribution of Corticospinal and Reticulospinal Mechanisms to Neural Adaptations Induced by Muscle Strengthening of Healthy Adults
A study testing Resistance training in people with Healthy Volunteers and Resistance Training Adaptation, run by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France.
Trial summary
This controlled trial aims to investigate the neural adaptations induced by a 4-week resistance training program targeting the triceps surae muscles. Specifically, the study will examine the contribution of the corticospinal and reticulospinal pathways to the nervous adaptations associated with resistance training. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Volunteers, Resistance Training Adaptation, Neuromuscular Adaptations
- What is being tested?
- Resistance training
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 22 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 15 Sep 2026to Aug 2029
- Phase
- Interventional
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 40 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Male or female participants aged 18 to 40 years
- Willing and able to provide written informed consent
- No regular participation (>1 session per week) in resistance training aimed at increasing maximal strength
- Affiliated with, or beneficiary of, a social security system
Who cannot join
- Personal or family history of epilepsy
- Conditions associated with a significantly reduced seizure threshold, including sleep deprivation, extreme fatigue, or jet lag
- Use of medications or substances known to lower the seizure threshold
- Use of medications that may influence neurophysiological measures (e.g., neuroleptics, anxiolytics, antidepressants, anticonvulsants)
- Presence of cardiac pacemakers or other implanted devices that may interfere with magnetic fields
- Presence of metallic implants (mechanical or electronic), including cochlear implants, cranial implants, cardiac or neural stimulators, drug infusion pumps, magnetic aneurysm clips, or cerebrospinal fluid shunts
Show all 21Show fewer
- Presence of non-removable metallic objects
- Presence of intraocular or intracranial metallic foreign bodies
- Known hearing disorders (e.g., tinnitus)
- History of psychiatric or neurological disorders
- Presence of severe cardiac or respiratory disease
- History of severe traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness
- History of brain lesions of vascular, tumoral, infectious, or metabolic origin (e.g., stroke)
- History or presence of bleeding disorders (e.g., venous or arterial thrombosis, thrombophlebitis)
- Individuals currently under an exclusion period from another research study
- Individuals listed under Articles L.1121-5 to L.1121-8 and L.1121-12 of the French Public Health Code, including:
- Pregnant, parturient, or breastfeeding women
- Women of childbearing potential not using effective contraception
- Individuals deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision
- Adults under legal protection (guardianship, curatorship, or legal safeguard) or unable to provide consent and not under such protection
- Minors
About this study
This controlled trial aims to investigate the neural adaptations induced by a 4-week resistance training program targeting the triceps surae muscles. Specifically, the study will examine the contribution of the corticospinal and reticulospinal pathways to the nervous adaptations associated with resistance training. It will give us more information about the nervous pathways mediating adaptations following this type of training. The main question it aims to answer is: What is the contribution of the cortico- and reticulospinal tracts to the nervous adaptations following a resistance training program?
Participants will take part to a resistance training program of the triceps surae for 4 weeks. They will undergo assessments of corticospinal and reticulospinal excitability before and after the training intervention to determine changes in neural pathways
The findings will improve our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying strength gains following resistance training.
- Being tested
- Resistance training
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Resistance trainingBehavioural
Participants will complete a 4-week resistance training program targeting the triceps sure muscles (3 sessions per week).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Resistance training group | Experimental | Not described Receives: Behavioral: Resistance training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
the change in maximum force achieved during a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of plantar flexion (the primary action of the triceps surae muscles).
The maximum force, achieved during a maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), will be recorded using an isokinetic ergometer (Biodex Medical Systems Inc., Shirley, NY, USA).
Measured: At baseline (before the first exercise session) and immediately after completion of the exercise sessions
Secondary outcomes (1)
The changes in the amplitude of electrophysiological responses evoked by magnetic or electrical stimulation at different levels of the neuromuscular system (cortical, thoracic, peripheral nerve).
Electrophysiological responses will be recorded using surface electromyography (sEMG), with electromyography electrodes (Contrôle Graphique Medical, Brie-Compte-Robert, France) placed on the muscle surface of the muscles under study. The following techniques will be used to elicit these responses, whether or not they are conditioned by auditory stimulation: intense auditory stimulation at 115 dB (SSI) coupled with a visual stimulus (i.e., the illumination of a red light-emitting diode, LED); non-intense auditory stimulation at 70 dB (SS) coupled with the illumination of a red LED; the illumination of the red LED without any sound stimulation (V).
Measured: During intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted21 Sep 2026
- Study start15 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionAug 2029 (estimated)
- Study completionAug 2029 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Healthy VolunteersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, FranceThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 22 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Sponsor type
- Other government
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07831382
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- C25-84
- Acronym
- RenfoRS
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 30 Jun 2026
- Last updated
- 21 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No