02091nas a2200253   4500008004100000022001400041245004000055210003800095260001200133300001400145490000800159520142300167653002101590653002101611653002501632653001701657653001101674653001601685100002301701700002301724700002101747700002101768856004801789       2006                        eng d  a0014-481900aDiurnal H-reflex variation in mice.0 aDiurnal Hreflex variation in mice  c01/2006  a517–5280 v1683 aMice exhibit diurnal variation in complex motor behaviors, but little is known about diurnal variation in simple spinally mediated functions. This study describes diurnal variation in the H-reflex (HR), a wholly spinal and largely monosynaptic reflex. Six mice were implanted with tibial nerve cuff electrodes and electrodes in the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, for recording of ongoing and nerve-evoked electromyographic activity (EMG). Stimulation and recording were under computer control 24 h/day. During a 10-day recording period, HR amplitude varied throughout the day, usually being larger in the dark than in the light. This diurnal HR variation could not be attributed solely to differences in the net ongoing level of descending and segmental excitation to the spinal cord or stimulus intensity. HRs were larger in the dark than in the light even after restricting the evoked responses to subsets of trials having similar ongoing EMG and M-responses. The diurnal variation in the HR was out of phase with that reported previously for rats, but was in phase with that observed in monkeys. These data, supported by those in other species, suggest that the supraspinal control of the excitability of the HR pathway varies throughout the day in a species-specific pattern. This variation should be taken into account in experimental and clinical studies of spinal reflexes recorded at different times of day.10acircadian rhythm10aElectromyography10aimplanted electrodes10aMonosynaptic10aReflex10aSpinal Cord1 aCarp, Jonathan, S.1 aTennissen, Ann, M.1 aChen, Xiang Yang1 aWolpaw, Jonathan  uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16151781