title: Cortico-conus motor conduction time (CCCT) for leg muscles.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure the conduction time from the motor cortex to the conus medullaris (cortico-conus motor conduction time, CCCT) for leg muscles using magnetic stimulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from tibialis anterior muscles in 51 healthy volunteers. To activate spinal nerves at the most proximal cauda equina level or at the conus medullaris level, magnetic stimulation was performed using a MATS coil. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex was also conducted to measure the cortical latency for the target muscle. To obtain the CCCT, the latency of MEPs to conus stimulation (conus latency) was subtracted from the cortical latency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MATS coil stimulation evoked reproducible MEPs in all subjects, yielding CCCT data for all studied tibialis anterior muscles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MATS coil stimulation provides CCCT data for healthy subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This novel method is useful for evaluation of corticospinal tract function for leg muscles because no peripheral component affects the CCCT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Division of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan. hideyukimatsumoto@mail.goo.ne.jp
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Ritsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanajima
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shirota
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terao
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohminami
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furubayashi
authors.forename: Setsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakatani-Enomoto
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ugawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002420:Cauda Equina / Q000502:physiology; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult