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The Modulation of Excitability in Corticospinal Pathways during Rhythmic Movement

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Neuro-Behavioral Determinants of Interlimb Coordination

Abstract

We report on several studies that have examined changes in corticospinal excitability during rhythmic movement of the upper limbs. During passive wrist flexion-extension there is a cyclic potentiation and inhibition of corticospinal excitability. The potentiation appears to be associated with a release of intracortical inhibition directed toward the same muscle, and is also associated with an overall depression of segmental excitability, as determined by H-reflex. There appears to be suppression of intracortical inhibition when homologous forearm muscles are shortened and leng thened synchronously, whereas less suppression of intracortical inhibition is evident when the movement pattern is asynchronous. H-reflex modulation does not distinguish between the two patterns and hence, differences likely reflect a cortical phenomenon. The composition ofmuscle synergies is shown to impact directly upon between-limb neural coupling and cortical input to spinal motoneurons appears to be strongly modulated by changes in the functional context of opposite limb muscles. The clinical implications of this research are described in a pilot study of patients recovering from monohemispheric stroke, and results show promise for interventions that exploit changes along the neuroaxis associated with interlimb movement.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Motor Control Laboratory, Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Winston D. Byblow, Gwyn N. Lewis & James W. Stinear

  2. Sensory Motor Performance Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Gwyn N. Lewis

  3. Perception and Motor Systems Laboratory, School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Richard G. Carson

Authors
  1. Winston D. Byblow
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  2. Gwyn N. Lewis
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  3. James W. Stinear
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  4. Richard G. Carson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. K. U. Leuven, Belgium

    Stephan P. Swinnen

  2. K. U. Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Jacques Duysens

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© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Byblow, W.D., Lewis, G.N., Stinear, J.W., Carson, R.G. (2004). The Modulation of Excitability in Corticospinal Pathways during Rhythmic Movement. In: Swinnen, S.P., Duysens, J. (eds) Neuro-Behavioral Determinants of Interlimb Coordination. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9056-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9056-3_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-4777-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-9056-3

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