Whole-hand water flow stimulation increases motor cortical excitability: a study of transcranial magnetic stimulation and movement-related cortical potentials.
Previous studies examining the influence of afferent stimulation on corticospinal excitability have demonstrated that the intensity of afferent stimulation and the nature of the afferents targeted (cutaneous/proprioceptive) determine the effects. In this study, we assessed the effects of whole-hand water immersion (WI) and water flow stimulation (WF) on corticospinal excitability and intracortical circuits by measuring motor evoked potential (MEP) recruitment curves and conditioned MEP amplitudes. We further investigated whether whole-hand WF modulated movement-related cortical activity. Ten healthy subjects participated in three experiments, comprising the immersion of participants' right hands with (whole-hand WF) or without (whole-hand WI) water flow, and no immersion (control). We evaluated MEP recruitment curves produced by a single transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulse at increasing stimulus intensities, short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF) using the paired TMS technique before and after 15 min of intervention. Movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) were evaluated to examine primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, and somatosensory cortex excitability upon movement before and after whole-hand WF. After whole-hand WF, the slope of the MEP recruitment curve significantly increased, whereas SICI decreased and ICF increased in the contralateral motor cortex. The amplitude of the Bereitschaftspotential, negative slope, and motor potential of MRCPs significantly increased after whole-hand WF. We demonstrated that whole-hand WF increased corticospinal excitability, decreased SICI, and increased ICF, although whole-hand WI did not change corticospinal excitability and intracortical circuits. Whole-hand WF modulated movement-related cortical activity, increasing motor cortex activation for the planning and execution of voluntary movements.
Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; and daisuke@nuhw.ac.jp.
Daisuke
D
Sato
Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; and.
Koya
K
Yamashiro
Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; Department of Physical Therapy, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan.
Hideaki
H
Onishi
Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; and.
Baba
B
Yasuhiro
Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; and.
Yoshimitsu
Y
Shimoyama
Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; Department of Health and Sports, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata City, Japan; and.
Atsuo
A
Maruyama
D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014867:Water; D055815:Young Adult
D014867:Water
corticospinal excitability; intracortical circuit; movement-related cortical potentials; primary motor cortex; whole-hand water flow stimulation