title: Effects of water immersion on short- and long-latency afferent inhibition, short-interval intracortical inhibition, and intracortical facilitation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of water immersion (WI) on short- and long-latency afferent inhibition (SAI and LAI), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF).
  
  
  METHODS
  Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured from the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of fifteen healthy males before, during, and after a 15-min WI at 30°C up to the axilla. Both SAI and LAI were evaluated by measuring MEPs in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the left motor cortex following electrical stimulation of the right median nerve (fixed at about three times the sensory threshold) at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 20 ms to assess SAI and 200 ms to assess LAI. The paired-pulse TMS paradigm was used to measure SICI and ICF.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both SAI and LAI were reduced during WI, while SICI and ICF were not significantly different before, during, and after WI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WI decreased SAI and LAI by modulating the processing of afferent inputs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Changes in somatosensory processing and sensorimotor integration may contribute to the therapeutic benefits of WI for chronic pain or movement disorders.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Japan. daisuke@nuhw.ac.jp
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Koya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.forename: Yoshimitsu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimoyama
authors.forename: Atsuo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maruyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007101:Immersion / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008475:Median Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014867:Water; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: LAI; SAI; Sensorimotor integration; Water immersion