03030nas a2200265   4500008004100000022001400041245016500055210006900220260001600289490000700305520208500312653002502397653002102422653001302443653001102456653002102467653002202488653002602510100002502536700001702561700002202578700002202600700002202622856012002644       2023                        eng d  a1741-255200aMethods for automated delineation and assessment of EMG responses evoked by peripheral nerve stimulation in diagnostic and closed-loop therapeutic applications.0 aMethods for automated delineation and assessment of EMG response  c2023 Jul 210 v203 a<p>Surface electromyography measurements of the Hoffmann (H-) reflex are essential in a wide range of neuroscientific and clinical applications. One promising emerging therapeutic application is H-reflex operant conditioning, whereby a person is trained to modulate the H-reflex, with generalized beneficial effects on sensorimotor function in chronic neuromuscular disorders. Both traditional diagnostic and novel realtime therapeutic applications rely on accurate definitions of the H-reflex and M-wave temporal bounds, which currently depend on expert case-by-case judgment. The current study automates such judgments.Our novel wavelet-based algorithm automatically determines temporal extent and amplitude of the human soleus H-reflex and M-wave. In each of 20 participants, the algorithm was trained on data from a preliminary 3 or 4 min recruitment-curve measurement. Output was evaluated on parametric fits to subsequent sessions' recruitment curves (92 curves across all participants) and on the conditioning protocol's subsequent baseline trials (∼1200 per participant) performed near. Results were compared against the original temporal bounds estimated at the time, and against retrospective estimates made by an expert 6 years later.Automatic bounds agreed well with manual estimates: 95% lay within ±2.5 ms. The resulting H-reflex magnitude estimates showed excellent agreement (97.5% average across participants) between automatic and retrospective bounds regarding which trials would be considered successful for operant conditioning. Recruitment-curve parameters also agreed well between automatic and manual methods: 95% of the automatic estimates of the current required to elicitfell within±1.4%of the retrospective estimate; for the 'threshold' current that produced an M-wave 10% of maximum, this value was±3.5%.Such dependable automation of M-wave and H-reflex definition should make both established and emerging H-reflex protocols considerably less vulnerable to inter-personnel variability and human error, increasing translational potential.</p>10aElectric Stimulation10aElectromyography10aH-Reflex10aHumans10aMuscle, Skeletal10aPeripheral Nerves10aRetrospective Studies1 aMcKinnon, Michael, L1 aHill, Jeremy1 aCarp, Jonathan, S1 aDellenbach, Blair1 aThompson, Aiko, K  uhttps://www.neurotechcenter.org/publications/2023/methods-automated-delineation-and-assessment-emg-responses-evoked03130nas a2200313   4500008004100000022001400041245013900055210006900194260001500263520206900278653002002347653002602367653002102393653002202414653001302436653001102449653002702460653002502487100001702512700001702529700001902546700002402565700002302589700002102612700001402633700002402647700002202671856012302693       2022                        eng d  a1940-087X00aThe Evoked Potential Operant Conditioning System (EPOCS): A Research Tool and an Emerging Therapy for Chronic Neuromuscular Disorders.0 aEvoked Potential Operant Conditioning System EPOCS A Research To  c2022 08 253 a<p>The Evoked Potential Operant Conditioning System (EPOCS) is a software tool that implements protocols for operantly conditioning stimulus-triggered muscle responses in people with neuromuscular disorders, which in turn can improve sensorimotor function when applied appropriately. EPOCS monitors the state of specific target muscles-e.g., from surface electromyography (EMG) while standing, or from gait cycle measurements while walking on a treadmill-and automatically triggers calibrated stimulation when pre-defined conditions are met. It provides two forms of feedback that enable a person to learn to modulate the targeted pathway's excitability. First, it continuously monitors ongoing EMG activity in the target muscle, guiding the person to produce a consistent level of activity suitable for conditioning. Second, it provides immediate feedback of the response size following each stimulation and indicates whether it has reached the target value. To illustrate its use, this article describes a protocol through which a person can learn to decrease the size of the Hoffmann reflex-the electrically-elicited analog of the spinal stretch reflex-in the soleus muscle. Down-conditioning this pathway's excitability can improve walking in people with spastic gait due to incomplete spinal cord injury. The article demonstrates how to set up the equipment; how to place stimulating and recording electrodes; and how to use the free software to optimize electrode placement, measure the recruitment curve of direct motor and reflex responses, measure the response without operant conditioning, condition the reflex, and analyze the resulting data. It illustrates how the reflex changes over multiple sessions and how walking improves. It also discusses how the system can be applied to other kinds of evoked responses and to other kinds of stimulation, e.g., motor evoked potentials to transcranial magnetic stimulation; how it can address various clinical problems; and how it can support research studies of sensorimotor function in health and disease.</p>10aChronic Disease10aConditioning, Operant10aElectromyography10aEvoked Potentials10aH-Reflex10aHumans10aNeuromuscular Diseases10aSpinal Cord Injuries1 aHill, Jeremy1 aGupta, Disha1 aEftekhar, Amir1 aBrangaccio, Jodi, A1 aNorton, James, J S1 aMcLeod, Michelle1 aFake, Tim1 aWolpaw, Jonathan, R1 aThompson, Aiko, K  uhttps://www.neurotechcenter.org/publications/2022/evoked-potential-operant-conditioning-system-epocs-research-tool-and02454nas a2200265   4500008004100000022001400041245007300055210006900128260001200197300001400209490000800223520163500231653001001866653001601876653002101892653001301913653001101926653002001937653002101957100001801978700002401996700002602020700002202046856012002068       2022                        eng d  a1432-110600aSoleus H-reflex modulation during a double-legged drop landing task.0 aSoleus Hreflex modulation during a doublelegged drop landing tas  c04/2022  a1093-11030 v2403 a<p>Muscle spindle afferent feedback is modulated during different phases of locomotor tasks in a way that facilitates task goals. However, only a few studies have studied H-reflex modulation during landing. This study aimed to characterize soleus (SOL) H-reflex modulation during the flight and early landing period of drop landings. Since landing presumably involves a massive increase in spindle afferent firing due to rapid SOL muscle stretching, we hypothesized H-reflex size would decrease near landing reflecting neural modulation to prevent excessive motoneuron excitation. The soleus H-reflex was recorded during drop landings from a 30 cm height in nine healthy adults. Electromyography (SOL, tibialis anterior (TA), medial gastrocnemius, and vastus lateralis), ankle and knee joint motion and ground reaction force were recorded during landings. Tibial nerve stimulation was timed to elicit H-reflexes during the flight and early ground contact period (five 30 ms Bins from 90 ms before to 60 ms after landing). The H-reflexes recorded after landing (0-30 and 30-60 ms) were significantly smaller (21-36% less) than that recorded during the flight periods (90-0 ms before ground contact; P ≤ 0.004). The decrease in H-reflex size not occurring until after ground contact indicates a time-critical modulation of reflex gain during the last 30 ms of flight (i.e., time of tibial nerve stimulation). H-reflex size reduction after ground contact supports a probable neural strategy to prevent excessive reflex-mediated muscle activation and thereby facilitates appropriate musculotendon and joint stiffness.</p>10aAdult10aAnkle Joint10aElectromyography10aH-Reflex10aHumans10aMuscle Spindles10aMuscle, Skeletal1 aLyle, Mark, A1 aMcLeod, Michelle, M1 aPouliot, Bridgette, A1 aThompson, Aiko, K  uhttps://www.neurotechcenter.org/publications/2022/soleus-h-reflex-modulation-during-double-legged-drop-landing-task