scholarly journals The Strength of the Movement-related Somatosensory Cortical Oscillations Differ between Adolescents and Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Gehringer ◽  
David J. Arpin ◽  
Jacy R. VerMaas ◽  
Michael P. Trevarrow ◽  
Tony W. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Tibial Nerve ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Somatosensory Processing ◽  
Passive Condition ◽  
Cortical Oscillations ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
Oscillatory Response ◽  
Alpha Beta ◽  
Motor Actions

AbstractAdolescents demonstrate increasing mastery of motor actions with age. One prevailing hypothesis is that maturation of the somatosensory system during adolescence contributes to the improved motor control. However, limited efforts have been made to determine if somatosensory cortical processing is different in adolescents during movement. In this study, we used magnetoencephalographic brain imaging to begin addressing this knowledge gap by applying an electrical stimulation to the tibial nerve as adolescents (Age = 14.8 ± 2.5 yrs.) and adults (Age = 36.8 ± 5.0 yrs.) produced an isometric ankle plantarflexion force, or sat with no motor activity. Our results showed strong somatosensory cortical oscillations for both conditions in the alpha-beta (8–30 Hz) and gamma (38–80 Hz) ranges that occurred immediately after the stimulation (0–125 ms), and a beta (18–26 Hz) oscillatory response shortly thereafter (300–400 ms). Compared with the passive condition, all of these frequency specific cortical oscillations were attenuated while producing the ankle force. The attenuation of the alpha-beta response was greater in adolescents, while the adults had a greater attenuation of the beta response. These results imply that altered attenuation of the somatosensory cortical oscillations might be central to the under-developed somatosensory processing and motor performance characteristics in adolescents.

Direct Evidence for a Binding between Cognitive and Motor Functions in Humans: A TMS Study

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1207-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireille Bonnard ◽  
Mickael Camus ◽  
Jozina de Graaf ◽  
Jean Pailhous
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Muscle Activation ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Motor Behavior ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Short Latency ◽  
The One ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Prior Intention

During voluntary motor actions, the cortico-spinal (CS) excitability is known to be modulated, on the one hand by cognitive (intention-related) processes and, on the other hand, by motor (performance-related) processes. Here, we studied the way these processes interact in the tuning of CS excitability during voluntary wrist movement. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) both as a reliable tool for quantifying the CS excitability, through the motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), and as a central perturbation evoking a movement (because the stimulation intensity was above threshold) with subjects instructed to prepare (without changing their muscle activation) either to “let go” or to “resist” to this evoked movement. We studied the simultaneous evolution of both the motor performance and the MEPs in the wrist flexor and extensor, separately for the successful trials (on average, 66% of the trials whatever the condition) and the unsuccessful trials; this allowed us to dissociate the intentionand performance-related processes. To their great surprise, subjects were found able to cognitively prepare themselves to resist a TMS-induced central perturbation; they all reported an important cognitive effort on the evoked movement. Moreover, because TMS only evoked short-latency MEPs (and no long-latency components), the amplitude of these short-latency MEPs was found to be related in a continuous way to the actual movement whatever the prior intention. These results demonstrate that prior intention allows an anticipatory modulation of the CS excitability, which is not only selective (as already known) but also efficient, giving the intended motor behavior a real chance to be realized. This constitutes a direct evidence of the role of the CS excitability in the binding between cognitive and motor processes in humans.

scholarly journals The neural dynamics of somatosensory processing and adaptation across childhood: a high-density electrical mapping study

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 1605-1619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neha Uppal ◽  
John J. Foxe ◽  
John S. Butler ◽  
Frantzy Acluche ◽  
Sophie Molholm
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Developmental Differences ◽  
High Density ◽  
Somatosensory Processing ◽  
Vibrotactile Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Reactivity ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Slow Presentation ◽  
The Right

Young children are often hyperreactive to somatosensory inputs hardly noticed by adults, as exemplified by irritation to seams or labels in clothing. The neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying changes in sensory reactivity are not well understood. Based on the idea that neurodevelopmental changes in somatosensory processing and/or changes in sensory adaptation might underlie developmental differences in somatosensory reactivity, high-density electroencephalography was used to examine how the nervous system responds and adapts to repeated vibrotactile stimulation over childhood. Participants aged 6–18 yr old were presented with 50-ms vibrotactile stimuli to the right wrist over the median nerve at 5 blocked interstimulus intervals (ranging from ∼7 to ∼1 stimulus per second). Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) revealed three major phases of activation within the first 200 ms, with scalp topographies suggestive of neural generators in contralateral somatosensory cortex. Although overall SEPs were highly similar for younger, middle, and older age groups (6.1–9.8, 10.0–12.9, and 13.0–17.8 yr old), there were significant age-related amplitude differences in initial and later phases of the SEP. In contrast, robust adaptation effects for fast vs. slow presentation rates were observed that did not differ as a function of age. A greater amplitude response in the later portion of the SEP was observed for the youngest group and may be related to developmental changes in responsivity to somatosensory stimuli. These data suggest the protracted development of the somatosensory system over childhood, whereas adaptation, as assayed in this study, is largely in place by ∼7 yr of age.

scholarly journals Brainwave biomarkers of brain activity, physiology and biomechanics in cycling performance

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4-2) ◽  
pp. 533-539
Author(s):  
Nurul Farha Zainuddin ◽  
Abdul Hafidz Omar ◽  
Izwyn Zulkapri ◽  
Mohd Najeb Jamaludin ◽  
Mohd Syafiq Miswan
Keyword(s):  
Motor Performance ◽  
Physiological Function ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Cycling Performance ◽  
Optimal Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sports Performance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Alpha Beta ◽  
The Relationship

Generally, in sports performance, the relationship between movement science and physiological function has been conducted integrating neuronal mechanism over the past decades. However, understanding those interaction between neural network and motor performance comprehensively in achieving optimal performance is still lacking, mainly in cycling. The purpose of this study was to discuss the issues in neuroscience related to brain activity, physiology and biomechanics in achieving optimal performance in cycling. As sports technology improves, more objective measurement can be demonstrated in solving specific issue in cycling, with optimization of performance as the main focus. In this review, the focus on brain activity will be based on the evaluation of the alpha and beta brainwaves as well as the alpha/beta ratio since they are biomarkers of EEG specifically related to cycling performance. Further in-depth understanding of the mechanism and interaction between brain activity, physiology and biomechanics in competitive cycling were acquired and discussed. Moreover, the biomarkers of brain activity related to cycling performance from previous studies were clearly identified and discussed and recommendations to be incorporated in future research were proposed.

Stroboscopic Vision to Induce Sensory Reweighting During Postural Control

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung-Min Kim ◽  
Joo-Sung Kim ◽  
Dustin R. Grooms
Keyword(s):  
Postural Control ◽  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Lower Extremity Injury ◽  
Somatosensory Processing ◽  
Sensory Reweighting ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
Almost All

Context: Patients with somatosensory deficits have been found to rely more on visual feedback for postural control. However, current balance tests may be limited in identifying increased visual dependence (sensory reweighting to the visual system), as options are typically limited to eyes open or closed conditions with no progressions between. Objective: To assess the capability of stroboscopic glasses to induce sensory reweighting of visual input during single-leg balance. Design:Descriptive Setting: Laboratory Participants: 18 healthy subjects without vision or balance disorders or lower extremity injury history (9 females; age = 22.1 ± 2.1 y; height = 169.8 ± 8.5 cm; mass = 66.5 ± 10.6 kg) participated. Interventions: Subjects performed 3 trials of unipedal stance for 10 s with eyes open (EO) and closed (EC), and with stroboscopic vision (SV) that was completed with specialized eyewear that intermittently cycled between opaque and transparent for 100 ms at a time. Balance tasks were performed on firm and foam surfaces, with the order randomized. Main Outcome Measures: Ten center-of-pressure parameters were computed. Results: Separate ANOVAs with repeated measures found significant differences between the 3 visual conditions on both firm (P-values =< .001) and foam (P-values =< .001 to .005) surfaces for all measures. For trials on firm surface, almost all measures showed that balance with SV was significantly impaired relative to EO, but less impaired than EC. On the foam surface, almost all postural stability measures demonstrated significant impairments with SV compared with EO, but the impairment with SV was similar to EC. Conclusions:SV impairment of single-leg balance was large on the firm surface, but not to the same degree as EC. However, the foam surface disruption to somatosensory processing and sensory reweighting to vision lead to greater disruptive effects of SV to the same level as EC. This indicates that when the somatosensory system is perturbed even a moderate decrease in visual feedback (SV) may induce an EC level impairment to postural control during single-leg stance.

scholarly journals The ‘creatures’ of the human cortical somatosensory system

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Saadon-Grosman ◽  
Yonatan Loewenstein ◽  
Shahar Arzy
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Functional Specialization ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Somatosensory Processing ◽  
Somatosensory Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Parcellation

Abstract Penfield’s description of the ‘homunculus’, a ‘grotesque creature’ with large lips and hands and small trunk and legs depicting the representation of body-parts within the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), is one of the most prominent contributions to the neurosciences. Since then, numerous studies have identified additional body-parts representations outside of S1. Nevertheless, it has been implicitly assumed that S1’s homunculus is representative of the entire somatosensory cortex. Therefore, the distribution of body-parts representations in other brain regions, the property that gave Penfield’s homunculus its famous ‘grotesque’ appearance, has been overlooked. We used whole-body somatosensory stimulation, functional MRI and a new cortical parcellation to quantify the organization of the cortical somatosensory representation. Our analysis showed first, an extensive somatosensory response over the cortex; and second, that the proportional representation of body parts differs substantially between major neuroanatomical regions and from S1, with, for instance, much larger trunk representation at higher brain regions, potentially in relation to the regions’ functional specialization. These results extend Penfield’s initial findings to the higher level of somatosensory processing and suggest a major role for somatosensation in human cognition.

Synchronization of Neuronal Activity in the Human Primary Motor Cortex by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An EEG Study

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 1983-1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Paus ◽  
P. K. Sipila ◽  
A. P. Strafella
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Single Pulse ◽  
Cortical Oscillations ◽  
Cortical Rhythms ◽  
Oscillatory Response

Using multichannel electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated temporal dynamics of the cortical response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS was applied over the left primary motor cortex (M1) of healthy volunteers, intermixing single suprathreshold pulses with pairs of sub- and suprathreshold pulses and simultaneously recording EEG from 60 scalp electrodes. Averaging of EEG data time locked to the onset of TMS pulses yielded a waveform consisting of a positive peak (30 ms after the pulse P30), followed by two negative peaks [at 45 (N45) and 100 ms]. Peak-to-peak amplitude of the P30–N45 waveform was high, ranging from 12 to 70 μV; in most subjects, the N45 potential could be identified in single EEG traces. Spectral analysis revealed that single-pulse TMS induced a brief period of synchronized activity in the beta range (15–30 Hz) in the vicinity of the stimulation site; again, this oscillatory response was apparent not only in the EEG averages but also in single traces. Both the N45 and the oscillatory response were lower in amplitude in the 12-ms (but not 3-ms) paired-pulse trials, compared with the single-pulse trials. These findings are consistent with the possibility that TMS applied to M1 induces transient synchronization of spontaneous activity of cortical neurons within the 15- to 30-Hz frequency range. As such, they corroborate previous studies of cortical oscillations in the motor cortex and point to the potential of the combined TMS/EEG approach for further investigations of cortical rhythms in the human brain.

scholarly journals Rivermead assessment of somatosensory performance: Italian normative data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Russo ◽  
Viviana Spandri ◽  
Marcello Gallucci ◽  
Peter Halligan ◽  
Nadia Bolognini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Normative Data ◽  
Quantitative Assessment ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Body Region ◽  
Italian Population ◽  
Somatosensory Processing ◽  
Neurological Assessment ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Surface Localization

AbstractThe Rivermead assessment of somatosensory performance (RASP) provides a quantitative assessment of somatosensory processing, suitable for brain-damaged patients suffering from stroke. It consists of seven subcomponents: Subtest 1 (sharp/dull discrimination), Subtest 2 (surface pressure touch), Subtest 3 (surface localization), Subtest 4 (sensory extinction), Subtest 5 (2-point discrimination), Subtest 6 (temperature discrimination), and Subtest 7 (proprioception). Overall, the RASP assesses 5 bilateral body regions: face (cheek), hand (palm and back), and foot (sole and back). This study aimed at providing normative data and cut-off scores for RASP subtests, for each body region, in a large Italian population sample. We present results from 300 healthy Italian individuals aged 19 to 98 years. Data represent a comprehensive set of norms that cover each subtest and each body region tested. Performance in Subtests 1, 5, and 6 decreased, for some body regions, with increasing age. Based on these results, norms were stratified for age (seven groups), with the pathological/non-pathological cut-off coinciding with the 5th percentile. Conversely, other results were not influenced by age; in such cases, a single error, in each body region, has to be considered indicative of pathological performance. This independent investigation of all subcomponents of the somatosensory system, for each body region, further confirms RASP’s potential in clinical practice, for neurological assessment, as well as in research settings.

scholarly journals Bilateral Interference in Motor Performance in Homologous vs. Non-homologous Proximal and Distal Effectors

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Andreas Aune ◽  
Håvard Lorås ◽  
Alexander Nynes ◽  
Tore Kristian Aune
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Upper Extremities ◽  
Neuromuscular System ◽  
Interference Task ◽  
Neural Interactions ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Organismic Constraint

Performance of bimanual motor actions requires coordinated and integrated bilateral communication, but in some bimanual tasks, neural interactions and crosstalk might cause bilateral interference. The level of interference probably depends on the proportions of bilateral interneurons connecting homologous areas of the motor cortex in the two hemispheres. The neuromuscular system for proximal muscles has a higher number of bilateral interneurons connecting homologous areas of the motor cortex compared to distal muscles. Based on the differences in neurophysiological organization for proximal vs. distal effectors in the upper extremities, the purpose of the present experiment was to evaluate how the level of bilateral interference depends on whether the bilateral interference task is performed with homologous or non-homologous effectors as the primary task. Fourteen participants first performed a unilateral primary motor task with the dominant arm with (1) proximal and (2) distal controlled joysticks. Performance in the unilateral condition with the dominant arm was compared to the same effector’s performance when two different bilateral interference tasks were performed simultaneously with the non-dominant arm. The two different bilateral interference tasks were subdivided into (1) homologous and (2) non-homologous effectors. The results showed a significant decrease in performance for both proximal and distal controlled joysticks, and this effect was independent of whether the bilateral interference tasks were introduced with homologous or non-homologous effectors. The overall performance decrease as a result of bilateral interference was larger for proximal compared to distal controlled joysticks. Furthermore, a proximal bilateral interference caused a larger performance decrement independent of whether the primary motor task was controlled by a proximal or distal joystick. A novel finding was that the distal joystick performance equally interfered with either homologous (distal bilateral interference) or non-homologous (proximal bilateral interference) interference tasks performed simultaneously. The results indicate that the proximal–distal distinction is an important organismic constraint on motor control and for understanding bilateral communication and interference in general and, in particular, how bilateral interference caused by homologous vs. non-homologous effectors impacts motor performance for proximal and distal effectors. The results seem to map neuroanatomical and neurophysiological differences for these effectors.

scholarly journals Somatosensory Perceptual Training Enhances Motor Learning by Observing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather R. McGregor ◽  
Joshua G.A. Cashaback ◽  
Paul L. Gribble
Keyword(s):  
Motor Learning ◽  
Force Field ◽  
Motor Performance ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Functional Plasticity ◽  
Perceptual Training ◽  
Learning Group ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Somatosensory Function

AbstractNeuroimaging and neurophysiological studies in humans have demonstrated that action observation activates brain regions involved in sensory-motor control. A growing body of work has shown that action observation can also facilitate motor learning; observing a tutor undergoing motor learning results in functional plasticity within the motor system and gains in subsequent motor performance. However, the effects of observing motor learning extend beyond the motor domain. Converging evidence suggests that learning also results in somatosensory functional plasticity and somatosensory perceptual changes. This work has raised the possibility that the somatosensory system is also involved in motor learning that results from observation. Here we tested this hypothesis using a somatosensory perceptual training paradigm. If the somatosensory system is indeed involved in motor learning by observing, then improving subjects' somatosensory function before observation should enhance subsequent observation-related gains in motor performance. Subjects performed a proprioceptive discrimination task in which a robotic manipulandum moved the subject’s passive upper limb and he or she made judgments about the position of the hand. Subjects in a Trained Learning group received trial-by-trial feedback to improve their proprioceptive acuity. Subjects in an Untrained Learning group performed the same task without feedback. All subjects then observed a learning video showing a tutor adapting her reaches to a left force field (FF). We found that subjects in the Trained Learning group, who had superior proprioceptive acuity prior to observation, benefited more from observing learning compared to subjects in the Untrained Learning group. Improving somatosensory function can therefore enhance subsequent observation-related gains in motor learning. This study provides further evidence in favor of the involvement of the somatosensory system in motor learning by observing.AbbreviationsFF:Force fieldPD:Maximum perpendicular deviationIQR:interquartile rangeThe authors report no financial interests or conflicts of interests.

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