Exploring Behavioral Correlates of Afferent Inhibition

Brain Sciences

Mark Tommerdahl¹  Mitchell B. Locke²  Jenin El-Sayes²  Aimee J. Nelson²  Claudia V. Turco² 

[1] Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada;

关键词: transcranial magnetic stimulation;    afferent inhibition;    LAI;    SAI;    tactile acuity;    manual dexterity;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci8040064

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

(1) Background: Afferent inhibition is the attenuation of the muscle response evoked from transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) by a prior conditioning electrical stimulus to a peripheral nerve. It is unclear whether the magnitude of afferent inhibition relates to sensation and movement; (2) Methods: 24 healthy, young adults were tested. Short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) and long-latency afferent inhibition (LAI) were obtained following median and digital nerve stimulation. Temporal tactile acuity was assessed with a temporal order judgement (TOJ) task, spatial tactile acuity was assessed using a grating orientation task (GOT), and fine manual dexterity was assessed with the Pegboard task; (3) Results: Correlation analyses revealed no association between the magnitude of SAI or LAI with performance on the TOJ, GOT, or Pegboard tasks; (4) Conclusion: The magnitude of SAI and LAI does not relate to performance on the sensory and motor tasks tested. Future studies are needed to better understand whether the afferent inhibition phenomenon relates to human behavior.

【 授权许可】

Unknown