title: Effects of treadmill exercise on transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced excitability to quadriceps after stroke.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine characteristics of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced measures of central motor excitability to the paretic and nonparetic quadriceps muscles of chronic hemiparetic stroke patients in the context of a short-term, submaximal bout treadmill exercise.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  Motor control and gait biomechanics laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Convenience sample of 11 patients including cohorts of treadmill untrained (n=8) and trained (n=3) stroke patients with chronic hemiparetic gait.
  
  
  METHODS
  Short-term submaximal treadmill exercise.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thresholds, amplitudes and latencies of TMS-induced motor evoked potentials at vastus medialis in paretic and nonparetic lower extremities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Baseline characteristics of the motor evoked potentials (MEPs) show significantly higher motor thresholds, longer latencies, and reduced amplitudes on the paretic side. In cross-sectional comparisons a group of treadmill-trained patients had greater paretic MEP amplitude changes after treadmill exercise versus paretic MEP responses from a group of untrained patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that treadmill training for 3 months or more may alter responsiveness of the lower-extremity central motor pathways to a short-term treadmill stimulus.
authors.affiliation: Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center Rehabilitation Research Service, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. lforrester@som.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Larry W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Forrester
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Hanley
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Macko
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000294:innervation* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation