Interhemispheric asymmetry of the motor cortex excitability in stroke: relationship with sensory-motor impairment and injury chronicity

Abstract Background Opposing needling has an obvious curative effect in the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia; however, the mechanism of the opposing needling in the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia is still not clear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of opposing needling on the excitability of primary motor cortex (M1) of healthy participants and patients with post-stroke hemiplegia, which may provide insight into the mechanisms of opposing needling in treating post-stroke hemiplegia. Methods This will be a single-blind, randomised, sham-controlled trial in which 80 healthy participants and 40 patients with post-stroke hemiplegia will be recruited. Healthy participants will be randomised 1:1:1:1 to the 2-Hz, 50-Hz, 100-Hz, and sham electroacupuncture groups. Patients with post-stroke hemiplegia will be randomised 1:1 to the opposing needling or conventional treatment groups. The M1 will be located in all groups by using neuroimaging-based navigation. The stimulator coil of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be moved over the left and right M1 in order to identify the TMS hotspot, followed by a recording of resting motor thresholds (RMTs) and motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the thenar muscles induced by TMS before and after the intervention. The primary outcome measure will be the percent change in the RMTs of the thenar muscles at baseline and after the intervention. The secondary outcome measures will be the amplitude (μV) and latency (ms) of the MEPs of the thenar muscles at baseline and after the intervention. Discussion The aim of this trial is to explore the effect of opposing needling on the excitability of M1 of healthy participants and patients with post-stroke hemiplegia. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900028138. Registered on 13 December 2019.

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Tool to Investigate Motor Cortex Excitability in Sport

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11040432 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 432

Author(s):

Fiorenzo Moscatelli ◽

Antonietta Messina ◽

Anna Valenzano ◽

Vincenzo Monda ◽

Monica Salerno ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Motor Cortex ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Motor Coordination ◽

Cortical Excitability ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Motor Cortex Excitability ◽

Invasive Method ◽

And Control ◽

The Impact

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, since its introduction in 1985, has brought important innovations to the study of cortical excitability as it is a non-invasive method and, therefore, can be used both in healthy and sick subjects. Since the introduction of this cortical stimulation technique, it has been possible to deepen the neurophysiological aspects of motor activation and control. In this narrative review, we want to provide a brief overview regarding TMS as a tool to investigate changes in cortex excitability in athletes and highlight how this tool can be used to investigate the acute and chronic responses of the motor cortex in sport science. The parameters that could be used for the evaluation of cortical excitability and the relative relationship with motor coordination and muscle fatigue, will be also analyzed. Repetitive physical training is generally considered as a principal strategy for acquiring a motor skill, and this process can elicit cortical motor representational changes referred to as use-dependent plasticity. In training settings, physical practice combined with the observation of target movements can enhance cortical excitability and facilitate the process of learning. The data to date suggest that TMS is a valid technique to investigate the changes in motor cortex excitability in trained and untrained subjects. Recently, interest in the possible ergogenic effect of non-invasive brain stimulation in sport is growing and therefore in the future it could be useful to conduct new experiments to evaluate the impact on learning and motor performance of these techniques.

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Effects of psychological pressure on motor cortex excitability and EMG activity in a choice reaction task

Neuroscience Research ◽

10.1016/j.neures.2011.07.1060 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 71 ◽

pp. e242-e243

Author(s):

Yoshifumi Tanaka ◽

Kozo Funase ◽

Hiroshi Sekiya ◽

Joyo Sasaki ◽

Yufu M. Tanaka

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Emg Activity ◽

Choice Reaction Task ◽

Motor Cortex Excitability ◽

Psychological Pressure ◽

Reaction Task

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Effect of pain and pain expectation on primary motor cortex excitability

Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/j.clinph.2011.03.026 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 122 (11) ◽

pp. 2318-2323 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Joëlle A. Dubé ◽

Catherine Mercier

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Primary Motor Cortex ◽

Motor Cortex Excitability

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A variant of the gene HARS detected in the clinical exome: etiology of a peripheral neuropathy undiagnosed for 20 years

Advances in Laboratory Medicine / Avances en Medicina de Laboratorio ◽

10.1515/almed-2020-0033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Raquel Lahoz Alonso ◽

Paula Sienes Bailo ◽

Jose Luis Capablo Liesa ◽

Sara Álvarez de Andrés ◽

Jose Luis Bancalero Flores ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Peripheral Neuropathy ◽

Neurological Disease ◽

Motor Impairment ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

Case Presentation ◽

Genetic Sequencing ◽

Charcot Marie Tooth ◽

Sensory Motor ◽

Exacerbation Of Symptoms ◽

Over Time

AbstractObjectivesDescribe a case with axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) type 2W, a neurological disease characterized by peripheral neuropathy typically involving the lower limbs and causing gait alterations and distal sensory-motor impairment.Case presentationWe report this case, where the application of massive genetic sequencing (NGS) with clinical exome in a molecular genetics laboratory enabled to detect the presence of candidate variants of the clinic of the patient.ConclusionsThe variant detected in HARS gene suggests that this variant could be causative of the symptoms of the patient, who went undiagnosed for 20 years and experienced an exacerbation of symptoms over time.

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113. Short-term effect of different tdcs intensities on motor cortex excitability

Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/j.clinph.2014.10.132 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 126 (1) ◽

pp. e26 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Chieffo ◽

M. Ciocca ◽

L. Leocani ◽

P.C. Miranda ◽

J. Rothwell

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Term Effect ◽

Short Term ◽

Short Term Effect ◽

Motor Cortex Excitability

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Dendritic changes of the pyramidal neurons in layer V of sensory-motor cortex of the rat brain during the postresuscitation period

Resuscitation ◽

10.1016/s0300-9572(97)00048-8 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 157-164 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Victor A Akulinin ◽

Sergey S Stepanov ◽

Valeriy V Semchenko ◽

Pavel V Belichenko

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Rat Brain ◽

Pyramidal Neurons ◽

Postresuscitation Period ◽

Sensory Motor ◽

Layer V

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Corticospinal Tract Microstructure Correlates With Beta Oscillatory Activity in the Primary Motor Cortex After Stroke

Stroke ◽

10.1161/strokeaha.121.034344 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Robert Schulz ◽

Marlene Bönstrup ◽

Stephanie Guder ◽

Jingchun Liu ◽

Benedikt Frey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Fractional Anisotropy ◽

Primary Motor Cortex ◽

Supplementary Motor Area ◽

Premotor Cortex ◽

Motor Impairment ◽

Motor Area ◽

Oscillatory Activity ◽

Premotor Area ◽

Beta Power

Background and Purpose: Cortical beta oscillations are reported to serve as robust measures of the integrity of the human motor system. Their alterations after stroke, such as reduced movement-related beta desynchronization in the primary motor cortex, have been repeatedly related to the level of impairment. However, there is only little data whether such measures of brain function might directly relate to structural brain changes after stroke. Methods: This multimodal study investigated 18 well-recovered patients with stroke (mean age 65 years, 12 males) by means of task-related EEG and diffusion-weighted structural MRI 3 months after stroke. Beta power at rest and movement-related beta desynchronization was assessed in 3 key motor areas of the ipsilesional hemisphere that are the primary motor cortex (M1), the ventral premotor area and the supplementary motor area. Template trajectories of corticospinal tracts (CST) originating from M1, premotor cortex, and supplementary motor area were used to quantify the microstructural state of CST subcomponents. Linear mixed-effects analyses were used to relate tract-related mean fractional anisotropy to EEG measures. Results: In the present cohort, we detected statistically significant reductions in ipsilesional CST fractional anisotropy but no alterations in EEG measures when compared with healthy controls. However, in patients with stroke, there was a significant association between both beta power at rest ( P =0.002) and movement-related beta desynchronization ( P =0.003) in M1 and fractional anisotropy of the CST specifically originating from M1. Similar structure-function relationships were neither evident for ventral premotor area and supplementary motor area, particularly with respect to their CST subcomponents originating from premotor cortex and supplementary motor area, in patients with stroke nor in controls. Conclusions: These data suggest there might be a link connecting microstructure of the CST originating from M1 pyramidal neurons and beta oscillatory activity, measures which have already been related to motor impairment in patients with stroke by previous reports.

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