Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
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To investigate the effects of soreness evoked by eccentric jaw exercises on two types of brainstem reflexes: the short-latency stretch reflex and the longer-latency exteroceptive suppression (ES), and to test for possible relationships between magnitude of soreness and reflex responses. ⋯ Experimentally induced acute muscle pain has previously been shown to influence both the ES and the jaw-stretch reflex, thus, different types of muscle pain and symptoms can be speculated to have different effects on a variety of brainstem reflexes.
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Twitch interpolation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has recently been used to measure the level of drive from the motor cortex to contracting muscles of the upper and lower limbs, termed voluntary activation. It has yet to be used to assess voluntary activation in trunk muscles. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of using TMS to measure voluntary activation in back muscles. ⋯ The assessment of voluntary activation of the back muscles may aid our understanding of the mechanisms of alteration in control of these muscles implicated in chronic low back pain.
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The cerebellum takes part in several motor functions through its influence on the motor cortex (M1). Here, we applied the theta burst stimulation (TBS) protocol, a novel form of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) over the lateral cerebellum. The aim of this study was to test whether TBS of the lateral cerebellum could be able to modulate the excitability of the contralateral M1 in healthy subjects. ⋯ Long-lasting modifications of these pathways could be useful to treat various pathological conditions characterized by an altered cortical excitability.
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Monitoring the effect of anesthetic drug on the neural system is an ongoing challenge for anesthetists. Several methods based on the electroencephalogram (EEG) have been proposed to estimate the depth of anesthesia (DoA); for instance, the Fourier-based time-frequency balanced spectral entropy as implemented in the Datex-Ohmeda M-Entropy Module. In this paper, a novel method based on Hilbert-Huang transform is proposed to calculate a spectral entropy value, called Hilbert-Huang spectral entropy and is applied to EEG recordings during sevoflurane anesthesia. The dose-response relation of Hilbert-Huang spectral entropy during sevoflurane anesthesia is presented. ⋯ Hilbert-Huang spectral entropy could be incorporated in the design of a new method to estimate the effect of anesthetic drugs on the EEG.
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Invasive stimulation of the spinal cord is used to treat a number of pathological conditions. Aiming to modulate human spinal cord function non-invasively, we evaluated whether transcutaneous direct current (DC) stimulation induces long-lasting changes in conduction along the sensory spinal pathways. ⋯ Our results support the use of transcutaneous DC stimulation as a novel tool for non-invasive spinal neuromodulation. Because the method is non-expensive and simple, it can be tested in patients with disorders presently treated with invasive procedures.