In this study, we examined the effect of muscle fatigue induced by tetanic electrical stimulation (ES) and submaximal isometric contraction on corticomotor excitability. Experiments were performed in a cross-over design. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Corticomotor excitability was recorded before and after thumb opposition muscle fatigue...

Impairment or interruption of oxygen supply compromises brain function and plays a role in neurological and neurodegenerative conditions. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound involved in the buffering, transport, and regulation of cellular energy, with the potential to replenish cellular adenosine triphosphate without oxygen. Creatine is also neuroprotective in vitro against anoxic/hypoxi...

OBJECTIVE Previous studies have investigated how tDCS over the primary motor cortex modulates excitability in the intrinsic hand muscles. Here, we tested if tDCS changes corticomotor excitability and/or cortical inhibition when measured in the extensor carpi radialis (ECR) and if these aftereffects can be successfully assessed during controlled muscle contraction. METHODS We implemented a dou...

We assessed the effects of anodal/cathodal direct current stimulation (DCS) applied epidurally over the cerebellum. We studied the excitability of both the motor cortex and the anterior horn of the spinal cord in adult rats under continuous anesthesia. We also investigated the effects on the spatial representation of a couple of agonist/antagonist muscles on primary motor cortex. Moreover, we e...

INTRODUCTION There is growing concern around the effects of concussion and sub-concussive impacts in sport. Routine game-play in soccer involves intentional and repeated head impacts through ball heading. Although heading is frequently cited as a risk to brain health, little data exist regarding the consequences of this activity. This study aims to assess the immediate outcomes of routine footb...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic ankle pain accounts for approximately 20 percent of all joint related pain in the United States. Ankle sprains are the most prevalent lower extremity injuries in sport, and the incidence of an initial sprain is the leading risk factor for development of chronic ankle instability. Chronic ankle instability may increase the risk of osteoarthritis as well as the development o...

INTRODUCTION Marked weakness of the quadriceps muscles is typically observed following injury, surgery or pathology affecting the knee joint. This is partly due to ongoing neural inhibition that prevents the central nervous system from fully activating the quadriceps, a process known as arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI). This study aimed to further investigate the mechanisms underlying AMI by...

The "synaptic homeostasis hypothesis" proposes that the brain's capacity to exhibit synaptic plasticity is reduced during the day but restores when sleeping. While this prediction has been confirmed for declarative memories, it is currently unknown whether it is also the case for motor memories. We quantified practice-induced changes in corticomotor excitability in response to repetitive motor ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of using motor imagery (MI) in combination with a virtual reality (VR) program on healthy volunteers and stroke patients. In addition, this study investigated whether task variability within the VR-guided MI programs would influence corticomotor excitability. METHODS The present study included 15 stroke patients and 15 healthy right-handed volunteers who w...

Volitional inhibition is the voluntary prevention of a prepared movement. Here we ask whether primary motor cortex (M1) is a site of convergence of cortical activity associated with movement preparation and volitional inhibition. Volitional inhibition was studied by presenting a stop signal before execution of an anticipated response that requires a key lift to intercept a revolving dial. Motor...