title: A new paradigm of electrical stimulation to enhance sensory neural function.
abstract: The ability to improve peripheral neural transmission would have significant therapeutic potential in medicine. A technology of this kind could be used to restore and/or enhance sensory function in individuals with depressed sensory function, such as older adults or patients with peripheral neuropathies. The goal of this study was to investigate if a new paradigm of subsensory electrical noise stimulation enhances somatosensory function. Vibration (50Hz) was applied with a Neurothesiometer to the plantar aspect of the foot in the presence or absence of subsensory electrical noise (1/f type). The noise was applied at a proximal site, on a defined region of the tibial nerve path above the ankle. Vibration perception thresholds (VPT) of younger adults were measured in control and experimental conditions, in the absence or presence of noise respectively. An improvement of ∼16% in VPT was found in the presence of noise. These are the first data to demonstrate that modulation of axonal transmission with externally applied electrical noise improves perception of tactile stimuli in humans.
authors.affiliation: The MARCS Institute, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: p.breen@uws.edu.au.
authors.forename: Paul P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Breen
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering & Informatics, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland; National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Gearóid
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: ÓLaighin
authors.affiliation: Podiatry, School of Health Sciences, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McIntosh
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Sean F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Dinneen
authors.affiliation: Physiology, School of Medicine, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Leo R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Quinlan
authors.affiliation: Veterans Biomedical Research Institute & War Related Illness and Injury Study Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, NJ Healthcare System, East Orange, NJ, USA; Department of Neurology, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jorge M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Serrador
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014732:Vibration
keywords: Neural engineering; Neural prosthesis; Noise; Sensory aids; Sensory perception; Stochastic systems