Blink reflexes were evoked during a foreperiod of 3 sec between a warning signal (WS) and a reaction signal (RS). In a between group design, two possible reactions following RS were investigated: 20 subjects always reacted with both hands, another group of 20 subjects always reacted with a voluntary blink. A manual response was assumed not to involve the circuit of the blink reflex, whereas a blink as a response was thought to be (at least partly) realized via the same circuit as the blink reflex. Both groups showed a strong increase of the early component (R1) of the blink reflex during the first 300 msec after WS, while the late polysynaptic component (R2) showed a strong inhibition during the same period. R1 did not decrease as a function of presentation order when the demanded reaction was a voluntary blink. No other inhibition or excitation related to the type of reaction after RS was observed during the foreperiod before RS.