title: Corticomuscular Coherence: a Novel Tool to Assess the Pyramidal Tract Dysfunction in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 2.
abstract: Clinical signs of corticospinal tract dysfunction are a common feature of spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) patients. The objective of this study is to assess dysfunction of the corticospinal tract in SCA2 using corticomuscular coherence. Testing corticomuscular coherence and rating of ataxia severity and non-ataxia symptoms were performed in 19 SCA2 patients and 24 age-matched controls. Central motor conduction times (CMCT) to upper and lower right limbs were obtained for the SCA2 group using Transcraneal magnetic stimulation (TMS). SCA2 patients exhibited a significant reduction of corticomuscular coherence for lower limbs, but not for upper limbs. This difference remained significant, even when excluding those individuals with clinical signs of corticospinal tract dysfunction. Corticomuscular coherence for lower limbs correlated inversely with CMCT to tibialis anterior muscle. Corticomuscular coherence could be a valuable electrophysiological tool to assess the corticospinal tract involvement in SCA2, even in the absence of clinical signs of corticospinal tract dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Calle Libertad 26, Holguín, Cuba, 80100. luis.velazquez@infomed.sld.cu.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Velázquez-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Department Neurology & Stroke, and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tünnerhoff
authors.affiliation: Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Calle Libertad 26, Holguín, Cuba, 80100.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Labrada
authors.affiliation: Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Calle Libertad 26, Holguín, Cuba, 80100.
authors.forename: Reidenis
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Torres-Vega
authors.affiliation: Department Neurology & Stroke, and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3, 72076, Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Belardinelli
authors.affiliation: Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Calle Libertad 26, Holguín, Cuba, 80100.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Medrano-Montero
authors.affiliation: Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Calle Libertad 26, Holguín, Cuba, 80100.
authors.forename: Arnoy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peña-Acosta
authors.affiliation: Department Clinical Neurophysiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Calle Libertad 26, Holguín, Cuba, 80100.
authors.forename: Nalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Canales-Ochoa
authors.affiliation: Department Molecular Neurobiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Holguín, Cuba.
authors.forename: Yaimeé
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Mojena
authors.affiliation: Department Molecular Neurobiology, Centre for the Research and Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxias, Holguín, Cuba.
authors.forename: Yanetza
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: González-Zaldivar
authors.affiliation: Exp. Neurology, Building 89, Goethe University Medical School, Theodor Stern Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Auburger
authors.affiliation: Department Neurology & Stroke, and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. ulf.ziemann@uni-tuebingen.de.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ziemann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000067698:Ataxin-2 / Q000235:genetics; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009154:Mutation; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D020754:Spinocerebellar Ataxias / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C000593752:ATXN2 protein, human; D000067698:Ataxin-2
keywords: Corticomuscular coherence; Corticospinal tract; SCA2; Spinocerebellar ataxias