title: Reconstruction of tonic vibration reflex in the biceps brachii reinnervated by transferred intercostal nerves in patients with brachial plexus injury.
abstract: The transfer of intercostal nerves to musculocutaneous nerves has been performed to reconstruct elbow flexion in patients with brachial plexus injury. In nine of 15 such patients, 2-3 Hz tapping of the distal tendon of the biceps muscle reinnervated by the transferred intercostal nerves (IC-biceps) induced a mode in the correlogram between tap and EMG pulse of IC-biceps. In five of the mode-positive patients, tapping of various frequencies induced gradual augmentation of integrated EMG of IC-biceps. This reflex was consistent with the tonic vibration reflex (TVR) in normal controls. Conduction velocity and frequency property of the reflex were compatible with the speculation that rapid-conducting muscle afferents (group Ia or II or both) reinnervate mechanoreceptors, such as muscle spindles. The clinical significance of muscle sensory reinnervation is not clear; however, the reconstruction of TVR following this operation is worthy in that it confirms the specific sensory reinnervation of denervated muscle in humans.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Physiology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sai
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kanamaru
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sibuya
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Homma
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001132:Arm / Q000294:innervation* / Q000601:surgery; D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000293:injuries*; D004576:Electromyography; D006801:Humans; D007367:Intercostal Nerves / Q000637:transplantation*; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation* / Q000601:surgery; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology*; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014732:Vibration