Short-term facilitation effects elicited by cortical priming through theta burst stimulation and functional electrical stimulation of upper-limb muscles

Na Cao; Atsushi Sasaki; Akiko Yuasa; Milos R Popovic; Matija Milosevic; Kimitaka Nakazawa

doi:10.1007/s00221-022-06353-3

Short-term facilitation effects elicited by cortical priming through theta burst stimulation and functional electrical stimulation of upper-limb muscles

Exp Brain Res. 2022 May;240(5):1565-1578. doi: 10.1007/s00221-022-06353-3. Epub 2022 Mar 31.

Authors

Na Cao^{1

2}, Atsushi Sasaki^{1

2}, Akiko Yuasa³, Milos R Popovic^{4

5

6}, Matija Milosevic⁷, Kimitaka Nakazawa¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.
² Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0083, Japan.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine I, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, 1-98 Dengakugakubo, Kutsukake-cho, Toyoake, Aichi, 470-1192, Japan.
⁴ Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.
⁵ KITE Research Institute, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 520 Sutherland Drive, Toronto, ON, M4G 3V9, Canada.
⁶ CRANIA, University Health Network and University of Toronto, 550 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 2A2, Canada.
⁷ Department of Mechanical Science and Bioengineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, 560-8531, Japan. matija@ieee.org.

PMID: 35359173
DOI: 10.1007/s00221-022-06353-3

Abstract

Non-invasive theta burst stimulation (TBS) can elicit facilitatory or inhibitory changes in the central nervous system when applied intermittently (iTBS) or continuously (cTBS). Conversely, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can activate the muscles to send a sensory volley, which is also known to affect the excitability of the central nervous system. We investigated whether cortical iTBS (facilitatory) or cTBS (inhibitory) priming can affect subsequent NMES-induced corticospinal excitability. A total of six interventions were tested, each with 11 able-bodied participants: cortical priming followed by NMES (iTBS + NMES and cTBS + NMES), NMES only (iTBS_sham + NMES and cTBS_sham + NMES), and cortical priming only (iTBS + rest and cTBS + rest). After iTBS or cTBS priming, NMES was used to activate right extensor capri radialis (ECR) muscle intermittently for 10 min (5 s ON/5 s OFF). Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and maximum motor response (M_max) elicited by radial nerve stimulation were compared before and after each intervention for 30 min. Our results showed that associative facilitatory iTBS + NMES intervention elicited greater MEP facilitation that lasted for at least 30 min after the intervention, while none of the interventions alone were effective to produce effects. We conclude that facilitatory iTBS priming can make the central nervous system more susceptible to changes elicited by NMES through sensory recruitment to enhance facilitation of corticospinal plasticity, while cTBS inhibitory priming efficacy could not be confirmed.

Keywords: Corticospinal excitability; Neuromuscular electrical stimulation; Plasticity; Priming; Theta burst stimulation.

MeSH terms

Electric Stimulation
Evoked Potentials, Motor / physiology
Humans
Motor Cortex* / physiology
Muscles
Neuronal Plasticity / physiology
Theta Rhythm / physiology
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation* / methods
Upper Extremity

Abstract

MeSH terms

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