Step initiation involves anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) that propel the body mass forward and laterally before the first step. This study used a startle-like acoustic stimulus (SAS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to examine the preparation of APAs before forward stepping. After an instructed delay period, subjects initiated forward steps in reaction to a visual "go" cue. ...

Background: Musicians and athletes undergo intensive motor training through the practice of an instrument or sport have demonstrated use-dependent plasticity. We know less, however, about whether brains musicians respond to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), differently than those without extensive training. Methods: evaluated cortex excitability before after rTMS protocol (10...

BackgroundTranscranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a non-invasive brain technique. Most studies show that anodal tDCS increases cortical excitability. However, this effect been found to be highly variable.ObjectiveTo test the of on excitability and interaction two participant-specific factors may explain individual differences in sensitivity tDCS: Brain Derived Neurotrophic...

The brain processes involved in the restoration of motor skill after hemiparetic stroke are not fully understood. The current study compared cortical activity in chronic stroke patients who successfully recovered hand motor skill and normal control subjects during performance of kinematically matched unskilled and skilled hand movements using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that...

This review illustrates how, after unilateral brain damage, the presence and severity of spatial awareness deficits for the contralesional hemispace depend greatly on the quantity of attentional resources available for performance. After a brief description of neglect and extinction, different frameworks accounting for spatial and non-spatial attentional processes will be outlined. The central ...

Functional recovery after stroke has been associated with brain plasticity; however, the exact relationship is unknown. We performed behavioral tests, functional MRI, and histology in a rat stroke model to assess the correlation between temporal changes in sensorimotor function, brain activation patterns, cerebral ischemic damage, and cerebrovascular reactivity. Unilateral stroke induced a larg...

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a recurrent debilitating condition that costs billions to society. Refractoriness to conventional treatment, lack of improvement, and associated movement disorders could be related to the extensive brain plasticity present in this condition, especially in the sensorimotor cortices. This narrative review on corticomotor plasticity in CLBP will try to delineate how...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Although there has been extensive research on the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to improve patients' motor performance after experiencing chronic stroke, explicit findings on the coupling of different rTMS protocols are meager. We designed this sham-controlled randomized study to investigate the potential for a consecutive suppressiv...

Degeneration of spinal motoneurons has been well documented in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), but the evolution of central motor abnormalities is largely unknown. It has been suggested that glutamate-mediated neuroexcitotoxicity may be involved in the pathogenesis of ALS and that this may be manifest as an increase in corticomotor excitability early in the disease. Serial measurements of ...