scholarly journals Transcutaneous trigeminal nerve stimulation modulates the hand blink reflex

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beniamina Mercante ◽  
Nicola Loi ◽  
Francesca Ginatempo ◽  
Monica Biggio ◽  
Andrea Manca ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Median Nerve ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Blink Reflex ◽  
Infraorbital Nerve ◽  
Hand Position ◽  
Median Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Face

AbstractThe hand-blink reflex (HBR) is a subcortical response, elicited by the electrical stimulation of the median nerve, whose magnitude is specifically modulated according to the spatial properties of the defensive peripersonal space (DPPS) of the face. For these reasons, the HBR is commonly used as a model to assess the DPPS of the face. Little is known on the effects induced by the activation of cutaneous afferents from the face on the DPPS of the face. Therefore, we tested the effect of non-painful transcutaneous trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) on the amplitude of the HBR. Fifteen healthy participants underwent HBR recording before and after 20 min of sham- and real-TNS delivered bilaterally to the infraorbital nerve in two separate sessions. The HBR was recorded bilaterally from the orbicularis oculi muscles, following non-painful median nerve stimulation at the wrist. The HBR amplitude was assessed in the “hand‐far” and “hand‐near” conditions, relative to the hand position in respect to the face. The amplitudes of the hand-far and hand-near HBR were measured bilaterally before and after sham- and real-TNS. Real-TNS significantly reduced the magnitude of the HBR, while sham-TNS had no significant effect. The inhibitory effect of TNS was of similar extent on both the hand-far and hand-near components of the HBR, which suggests an action exerted mainly at brainstem level.

Transcutaneous trigeminal nerve stimulation induces a long-term depression-like plasticity of the human blink reflex

2015 ◽  
Vol 234 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanna Pilurzi ◽  
Beniamina Mercante ◽  
Francesca Ginatempo ◽  
Paolo Follesa ◽  
Eusebio Tolu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Blink Reflex ◽  
Long Term Depression ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation

scholarly journals Cardiovascular response to trigeminal nerve stimulation at rest and during exercise in humans: does sex matter?

2018 ◽  
Vol 315 (1) ◽  
pp. R68-R75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliza Prodel ◽  
Thales C. Barbosa ◽  
Antonio C. Nóbrega ◽  
Lauro C. Vianna
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Cardiovascular Response ◽  
Resistance Index ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Cycling Exercise ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation ◽  
The Face

We sought to investigate the possibility that there are sex differences in the cardiovascular responses to trigeminal nerve stimulation (TGS) with cold exposure to the face at rest and during dynamic exercise. In 9 healthy men (age: 28 ± 3 yr; height: 178 ± 1 cm; weight: 77 ± 8 kg) and 13 women (age 26 ± 5 yr; height 164 ± 3 cm; weight 63 ± 7 kg) beat-to-beat heart rate (HR) and blood pressure were recorded. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), stroke volume (SV), cardiac index (CI), and total vascular resistance index (TVRI) were calculated. TGS was applied for 3 min at rest and in-between 10-min steady-state cycling exercise at a HR of 110 beats/min, the measurements were obtained during the last minute of each period. At rest, TGS increased MAP (men: Δ18 ± 8 mmHg; women: Δ23 ± 8 mmHg; means ± SD), TVRI (men: Δ1.1 ± 0.6 mmHg·l−1·min·m−2; women: Δ1.2 ± 1.2 mmHg·l−1·min·m−2) and SV (men: Δ19 ± 15 ml; women: Δ16 ± 11 ml) in both groups. CI increased with TGS in women but not in men. However, men presented a bradycardic response to TGS (Δ−11 ± 8 beats/min) that was not significant in women compared with baseline. Cycling exercise increased HR, MAP, SV, and CI and decreased TVRI in men and women. TGS during exercise further increased MAP in men and women and did not change CI in either group. SV and TVRI increased with TGS during exercise only in women. TGS during exercise evoked bradycardia in men (Δ−7 ± 9 beats/min), whereas HR was unchanged in women. Our findings indicate sex differences in TGS-related cardiovascular responses at rest and during exercise.

Defensive peripersonal space: the blink reflex evoked by hand stimulation is increased when the hand is near the face

2012 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 880-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Sambo ◽  
M. Liang ◽  
G. Cruccu ◽  
G. D. Iannetti
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Median Nerve ◽  
Safety Margin ◽  
Peripersonal Space ◽  
Blink Reflex ◽  
Hand Position ◽  
Electromyographic Activity ◽  
The Face ◽  
Stimulation Of

Electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist may elicit a blink reflex [hand blink reflex (HBR)] mediated by a neural circuit at brain stem level. As, in a Sherringtonian sense, the blink reflex is a defensive response, in a series of experiments we tested, in healthy volunteers, whether and how the HBR is modulated by the proximity of the stimulated hand to the face. Electromyographic activity was recorded from the orbicularis oculi, bilaterally. We observed that the HBR is enhanced when the stimulated hand is inside the peripersonal space of the face, compared with when it is outside, irrespective of whether the proximity of the hand to the face is manipulated by changing the position of the arm ( experiment 1) or by rotating the head while keeping the arm position constant ( experiment 3). Experiment 2 showed that such HBR enhancement has similar magnitude when the participants have their eyes closed. Experiments 4 and 5 showed, respectively, that the blink reflex elicited by the electrical stimulation of the supraorbital nerve, as well as the N20 wave of the somatosensory evoked potentials elicited by the median nerve stimulation, are entirely unaffected by hand position. Taken together, our results provide compelling evidence that the brain stem circuits mediating the HBR in humans undergo tonic and selective top-down modulation from higher order cortical areas responsible for encoding the location of somatosensory stimuli in external space coordinates. These findings support the existence of a “defensive” peripersonal space, representing a safety margin advantageous for survival.

scholarly journals Cerebral metabolism before and after external trigeminal nerve stimulation in episodic migraine

Cephalalgia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 881-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine Magis ◽  
Kevin D’Ostilio ◽  
Aurore Thibaut ◽  
Victor De Pasqua ◽  
Pascale Gerard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trigeminal Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Fdg Pet ◽  
Cerebral Metabolism ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Episodic Migraine ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Central Pain ◽  
Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Before And After

Background and aim A recent sham-controlled trial showed that external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) is effective in episodic migraine (MO) prevention. However, its mechanism of action remains unknown. We performed 18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to evaluate brain metabolic changes before and after eTNS in episodic migraineurs. Methods Twenty-eight individuals were recruited: 14 with MO and 20 healthy volunteers (HVs). HVs underwent a single FDG-PET, whereas patients were scanned at baseline, directly after a first prolonged session of eTNS (Cefaly®) and after three months of treatment (uncontrolled study). Results The frequency of migraine attacks significantly decreased in compliant patients ( N = 10). Baseline FDG-PET revealed a significant hypometabolism in fronto-temporal areas, especially in the orbitofrontal (OFC) and rostral anterior cingulate cortices (rACC) in MO patients. This hypometabolism was reduced after three months of eTNS treatment. Conclusion Our study shows that metabolic activity of OFC and rACC, which are pivotal areas in central pain and behaviour control, is decreased in migraine. This hypometabolism is reduced after three months of eTNS. eTNS might thus exert its beneficial effects via slow neuromodulation of central pain-controlling areas, a mechanism also previously reported in chronic migraine and cluster headache after percutaneous occipital nerve stimulation. However, this finding needs to be confirmed by further studies using a sham condition.

Changes in pharyngeal corticobulbar excitability and swallowing behavior after oral stimulation

2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (1) ◽  
pp. G45-G50 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Power ◽  
C. Fraser ◽  
A. Hobson ◽  
J. C. Rothwell ◽  
S. Mistry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Median Nerve ◽  
Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Functional Change ◽  
Physiological Basis ◽  
Oral Stimulation ◽  
Median Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Swallowing Dysfunction ◽  
Swallowing Rehabilitation ◽  
Before And After

Faucial pillar (FP) stimulation is commonly used in swallowing rehabilitation, yet its physiological basis remains uncertain. We investigated the effects of intraoral FP stimulation on human corticobulbar excitability and swallowing behavior, to explore the possibility of a central mechanism for functional change. In 10 healthy subjects, corticobulbar projections to pharynx were investigated with transcranial magnetic stimulation, via intraluminal electrodes, before and up to 1 h after 10 min of electrical FP stimulation with three frequencies (0.2, 1, and 5 Hz) or sham and peripheral (median nerve) stimulation. In a second study, swallowing behavior was assessed with videofluoroscopy before and after FP stimulation. FP stimulation at 5 Hz inhibited the corticobulbar projection (-14 ± 6%, P < 0.02) and lengthened swallow response time (+114 ± 24%, P = 0.02). By comparison, FP stimulation at 0.2 Hz facilitated this projection (+60 ± 28%, P < 0.04), without enhancing swallowing behavior. Neither 1-Hz, sham, nor median nerve stimulation altered excitability. Thus changes in corticobulbar excitability to FP stimulation are frequency dependent with implications for the treatment for neurogenic swallowing dysfunction.

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