Faculty Collaboration Database

Use of imperceptible wrist vibration to modulate sensorimotor cortical activity. Exp Brain Res 2019 Mar;237(3):805-816

Date

01/05/2019

Pubmed ID

30607471

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6613561

DOI

10.1007/s00221-018-05465-z

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85059530768 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   30 Citations

Abstract

Peripheral sensory stimulation has been used as a method to stimulate the sensorimotor cortex, with applications in neurorehabilitation. To improve delivery modality and usability, a new stimulation method has been developed in which imperceptible random-frequency vibration is applied to the wrist concurrently during hand activity. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of this new sensory stimulation on the sensorimotor cortex. Healthy adults were studied. In a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study, resting motor threshold, short-interval intracortical inhibition, and intracortical facilitation for the abductor pollicis brevis muscle were compared between vibration on vs. off, while subjects were at rest. In an electroencephalogram (EEG) study, alpha and beta power during rest and event-related desynchronization (ERD) for hand grip were compared between vibration on vs. off. Results showed that vibration decreased EEG power and decreased TMS short-interval intracortical inhibition (i.e., disinhibition) compared with no vibration at rest. Grip-related ERD was also greater during vibration, compared to no vibration. In conclusion, subthreshold random-frequency wrist vibration affected the release of intracortical inhibition and both resting and grip-related sensorimotor cortical activity. Such effects may have implications in rehabilitation.

Author List

Seo NJ, Lakshminarayanan K, Lauer AW, Ramakrishnan V, Schmit BD, Hanlon CA, George MS, Bonilha L, Downey RJ, DeVries W, Nagy T

Author

Brian Schmit PhD Professor in the Biomedical Engineering department at Marquette University

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Brain Waves
Cortical Synchronization
Electroencephalography
Electromyography
Female
Humans
Male
Muscle, Skeletal
Physical Stimulation
Sensorimotor Cortex
Touch Perception
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Vibration
Wrist
Young Adult