scholarly journals The Reliability of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-Derived Corticomotor Inhibition as a Brain Health Evaluation Tool in Soccer Players

2022 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Di Virgilio ◽  
Magdalena Ietswaart ◽  
Ragul Selvamoorthy ◽  
Angus M. Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Rectus Femoris ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Soccer Players ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Actual Measurement ◽  
Head Impacts

Abstract Background The suitability of corticomotor inhibition and corticospinal excitability to measure brain health outcomes and recovery of sport-related head impact (concussion and subconcussion) depends on good inter-day reliability, which is evaluated in this study. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) reliability in soccer players is assessed by comparing soccer players, for whom reliability on this measure may be reduced due to exposure to head impacts, to generally active individuals not engaged in contact sport. Methods TMS-derived corticomotor inhibition and corticospinal excitability were recorded from the rectus femoris muscle during two testing sessions, spaced 1–2 weeks apart in 19 soccer players (SOC—age 22 ± 3 years) and 20 generally active (CON—age 24 ± 4 years) healthy volunteers. Inter-day reliability between the two time points was quantified by using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Intra-group reliability and group differences on actual measurement values were also explored. Results Good inter-day reliability was evident for corticomotor inhibition (ICCSOC = 0.61; ICCCON = 0.70) and corticospinal excitability (ICCSOC = 0.59; ICCCON = 0.70) in both generally active individuals and soccer players routinely exposed to sport-related head impacts. Corticomotor inhibition showed lower coefficients of variation than excitability for both groups (InhibSOC = 15.2%; InhibCON = 9.7%; ExcitabSOC = 41.6%; ExcitabCON = 39.5%). No group differences between soccer players and generally active individuals were found on the corticomotor inhibition value (p > 0.05), but levels of corticospinal excitability were significantly lower in soccer players (45.1 ± 20.8 vs 85.4 ± 6.2%Mmax, p < 0.0001). Corticomotor inhibition also showed excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.87). Conclusions Corticomotor inhibition and corticospinal excitability are stable and maintain good degrees of reliability when assessed over different days in soccer players, despite their routine exposure to head impacts. However, based on intra-group reliability and group differences of the levels of excitability, we conclude that corticomotor inhibition is best suited for the evaluation of neuromuscular alterations associated with head impacts in contact sports.

Evaluation of corticobulbar and corticospinal excitability in developmental stuttering: the navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation study

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Rogić Vidaković ◽  
Marina Zmajević Schönwald ◽  
Tomislav Jurić ◽  
Nikola Erceg ◽  
Andreja Bubić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Developmental Stuttering

scholarly journals Corticospinal correlates of fast and slow adaptive processes in motor learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 2011-2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adjmal M. E. Sarwary ◽  
Miles Wischnewski ◽  
Dennis J. L. G. Schutter ◽  
Luc P. J. Selen ◽  
W. Pieter Medendorp
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Behavioral Observations ◽  
Adaptive Processes ◽  
Adaptation Processes ◽  
Adaptation Task ◽  
Adaptation Model

Recent computational theories and behavioral observations suggest that motor learning is supported by multiple adaptation processes, operating on different timescales, but direct neural evidence is lacking. We tested this hypothesis by applying transcranial magnetic stimulation over motor cortex in 16 human subjects during a validated reach adaptation task. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and cortical silent periods (CSPs) were recorded from the biceps brachii to assess modulations of corticospinal excitability as indices for corticospinal plasticity. Guided by a two-state adaptation model, we show that the MEP reflects an adaptive process that learns quickly but has poor retention, while the CSP correlates with a process that responds more slowly but retains information well. These results provide a physiological link between models of motor learning and distinct changes in corticospinal excitability. Our findings support the relationship between corticospinal gain modulations and the adaptive processes in motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Computational theories and behavioral observations suggest that motor learning is supported by multiple adaptation processes, but direct neural evidence is lacking. We tested this hypothesis by applying transcranial magnetic stimulation over human motor cortex during a reach adaptation task. Guided by a two-state adaptation model, we show that the motor-evoked potential reflects a process that adapts and decays quickly, whereas the cortical silent period reflects slow adaptation and decay.

Whole-hand water flow stimulation increases motor cortical excitability: a study of transcranial magnetic stimulation and movement-related cortical potentials

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 822-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Sato ◽  
Koya Yamashiro ◽  
Hideaki Onishi ◽  
Baba Yasuhiro ◽  
Yoshimitsu Shimoyama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Afferent Stimulation ◽  
Intracortical Circuits ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Flow Stimulation

Previous studies examining the influence of afferent stimulation on corticospinal excitability have demonstrated that the intensity of afferent stimulation and the nature of the afferents targeted (cutaneous/proprioceptive) determine the effects. In this study, we assessed the effects of whole-hand water immersion (WI) and water flow stimulation (WF) on corticospinal excitability and intracortical circuits by measuring motor evoked potential (MEP) recruitment curves and conditioned MEP amplitudes. We further investigated whether whole-hand WF modulated movement-related cortical activity. Ten healthy subjects participated in three experiments, comprising the immersion of participants' right hands with (whole-hand WF) or without (whole-hand WI) water flow, and no immersion (control). We evaluated MEP recruitment curves produced by a single transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulse at increasing stimulus intensities, short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF) using the paired TMS technique before and after 15 min of intervention. Movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) were evaluated to examine primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and somatosensory cortex excitability upon movement before and after whole-hand WF. After whole-hand WF, the slope of the MEP recruitment curve significantly increased, whereas SICI decreased and ICF increased in the contralateral motor cortex. The amplitude of the Bereitschaftspotential, negative slope, and motor potential of MRCPs significantly increased after whole-hand WF. We demonstrated that whole-hand WF increased corticospinal excitability, decreased SICI, and increased ICF, although whole-hand WI did not change corticospinal excitability and intracortical circuits. Whole-hand WF modulated movement-related cortical activity, increasing motor cortex activation for the planning and execution of voluntary movements.

Motor skill training and strength training are associated with different plastic changes in the central nervous system

2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (4) ◽  
pp. 1558-1568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesper Lundbye Jensen ◽  
Peter C. D. Marstrand ◽  
Jens B. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Strength Training ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Skill Training ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Learning Group

Changes in corticospinal excitability induced by 4 wk of heavy strength training or visuomotor skill learning were investigated in 24 healthy human subjects. Measurements of the input-output relation for biceps brachii motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation were obtained at rest and during voluntary contraction in the course of the training. The training paradigms induced specific changes in the motor performance capacity of the subjects. The strength training group increased maximal dynamic and isometric muscle strength by 31% ( P < 0.001) and 12.5% ( P = 0.045), respectively. The skill learning group improved skill performance significantly ( P < 0.001). With one training bout, the only significant change in transcranial magnetic stimulation parameters was an increase in skill learning group maximal MEP level (MEPmax) at rest ( P = 0.02) for subjects performing skill training. With repeated skill training three times per week for 4 wk, MEPmax increased and the minimal stimulation intensity required to elicit MEPs decreased significantly at rest and during contraction ( P < 0.05). In contrast, MEPmax and the slope of the input-output relation both decreased significantly at rest but not during contraction in the strength-trained subjects ( P ≤ 0.01). No significant changes were observed in a control group. A significant correlation between changes in neurophysiological parameters and motor performance was observed for skill learning but not strength training. The data show that increased corticospinal excitability may develop over several weeks of skill training and indicate that these changes may be of importance for task acquisition. Because strength training was not accompanied by similar changes, the data suggest that different adaptive changes are involved in neural adaptation to strength training.

scholarly journals Effect of graded hypoxia on supraspinal contributions to fatigue with unilateral knee-extensor contractions

2010 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 1842-1851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Goodall ◽  
Emma Z. Ross ◽  
Lee M. Romer
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Maximal Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Voluntary Contraction ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Voluntary Activation ◽  
Severe Hypoxia ◽  
Knee Extensors ◽  
Moderate Hypoxia

Supraspinal fatigue, defined as an exercise-induced decline in force caused by suboptimal output from the motor cortex, accounts for over one-quarter of the force loss after fatiguing contractions of the knee extensors in normoxia. We tested the hypothesis that the relative contribution of supraspinal fatigue would be elevated with increasing severities of acute hypoxia. On separate days, 11 healthy men performed sets of intermittent, isometric, quadriceps contractions at 60% maximal voluntary contraction to task failure in normoxia (inspired O2 fraction/arterial O2 saturation = 0.21/98%), mild hypoxia (0.16/93%), moderate hypoxia (0.13/85%), and severe hypoxia (0.10/74%). Electrical stimulation of the femoral nerve was performed to assess neuromuscular transmission and contractile properties of muscle fibers. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered to the motor cortex to quantify corticospinal excitability and voluntary activation. After 10 min of breathing the test gas, neuromuscular function and cortical voluntary activation prefatigue were unaffected in any condition. The fatigue protocol resulted in ∼30% declines in maximal voluntary contraction force in all conditions, despite differences in time-to-task failure (24.7 min in normoxia vs. 15.9 min in severe hypoxia, P < 0.05). Potentiated quadriceps twitch force declined in all conditions, but the decline in severe hypoxia was less than that in normoxia ( P < 0.05). Cortical voluntary activation also declined in all conditions, but the deficit in severe hypoxia exceeded that in normoxia ( P < 0.05). The additional central fatigue in severe hypoxia was not due to altered corticospinal excitability, as electromyographic responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation were unchanged. Results indicate that peripheral mechanisms of fatigue contribute relatively more to the reduction in force-generating capacity of the knee extensors following submaximal intermittent isometric contractions in normoxia and mild to moderate hypoxia, whereas supraspinal fatigue plays a greater role in severe hypoxia.

scholarly journals Changes in corticospinal excitability during reach adaptation in force fields

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Jacques Orban de Xivry ◽  
Mohammad Ali Ahmadi-Pajouh ◽  
Michelle D. Harran ◽  
Yousef Salimpour ◽  
Reza Shadmehr
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Gradual Group ◽  
Specific Increase ◽  
Stimulation Of

Both abrupt and gradually imposed perturbations produce adaptive changes in motor output, but the neural basis of adaptation may be distinct. Here, we measured the state of the primary motor cortex (M1) and the corticospinal network during adaptation by measuring motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) before reach onset using transcranial magnetic stimulation of M1. Subjects reached in a force field in a schedule in which the field was introduced either abruptly or gradually over many trials. In both groups, by end of the training, muscles that countered the perturbation in a given direction increased their activity during the reach (labeled as the on direction for each muscle). In the abrupt group, in the period before the reach toward the on direction, MEPs in these muscles also increased, suggesting a direction-specific increase in the excitability of the corticospinal network. However, in the gradual group, these MEP changes were missing. After training, there was a period of washout. The MEPs did not return to baseline. Rather, in the abrupt group, off direction MEPs increased to match on direction MEPs. Therefore, we observed changes in corticospinal excitability in the abrupt but not gradual condition. Abrupt training includes the repetition of motor commands, and repetition may be the key factor that produces this plasticity. Furthermore, washout did not return MEPs to baseline, suggesting that washout engaged a new network that masked but did not erase the effects of previous adaptation. Abrupt but not gradual training appears to induce changes in M1 and/or corticospinal networks.

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