03180nas a2200277 4500008004100000022001400041245010400055210006900159260001200228300001100240490000800251520226600259653002102525653002902546653001102575653001702586653001302603653002102616653001202637653002102649653003802670100002502708700002202733700002402755856012302779 2023 eng d a1522-159800aThe human motor cortex contributes to gravity compensation to maintain posture and during reaching.0 ahuman motor cortex contributes to gravity compensation to mainta c01/2023 a83-1010 v1293 a
The neural control of posture and movement is interdependent. During voluntary movement, the neural motor command is executed by the motor cortex through the corticospinal tract and its collaterals and subcortical targets. Here we address the question of whether the control mechanism for the postural adjustments at nonmoving joints is also involved in overcoming gravity at the moving joints. We used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to measure the corticospinal excitability in humans during postural and reaching tasks. We hypothesized that the corticospinal excitability is proportional to background muscle activity and the gravity-related joint moments during both static postures and reaching movements. To test this hypothesis, we used visual targets in virtual reality to instruct five postures and three movements with or against gravity. We then measured the amplitude and gain of motor evoked potentials in multiple arm and hand muscles at several phases of the reaching motion and during static postures. The stimulation caused motor evoked potentials in all muscles that were proportional to the muscle activity. During both static postures and reaching movements, the muscle activity and the corticospinal contribution to these muscles changed in proportion with the postural moments needed to support the arm against gravity, supporting the hypothesis. Notably, these changes happened not only in antigravity muscles. Altogether, these results provide evidence that the changes in corticospinal excitability cause muscle cocontraction that modulates limb stiffness. This suggests that the motor cortex is involved in producing postural adjustments that support the arm against gravity during posture maintenance and reaching. Animal studies suggest that the corticospinal tract and its collaterals are crucial for producing postural adjustments that accompany movement in limbs other than the moving limb. Here we provide evidence for a similar control schema for both arm posture maintenance and gravity compensation during movement of the same limb. The observed interplay between the postural and movement control signals within the corticospinal tract may help explain the underlying neural motor deficits after stroke.
10aElectromyography10aEvoked Potentials, Motor10aHumans10aMotor Cortex10aMovement10aMuscle, Skeletal10aPosture10aPyramidal Tracts10aTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation1 aHardesty, Russell, L1 aEllaway, Peter, H1 aGritsenko, Valeriya uhttps://www.neurotechcenter.org/publications/2023/human-motor-cortex-contributes-gravity-compensation-maintain-posture03030nas 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 aSurface 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.
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 aThe 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.
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 aMuscle 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.
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-task02577nas a2200301 4500008004100000022001400041245010600055210006900161260001200230300001200242490000800254520171500262653001201977653002601989653002102015653001102036653001502047653000902062653002502071653001202096653001402108653001602122100002402138700002102162700002102183700002302204856004802227 2014 eng d a1522-146600aLong-term recording of external urethral sphincter EMG activity in unanesthetized, unrestrained rats.0 aLongterm recording of external urethral sphincter EMG activity i c08/2014 aF485-970 v3073 aThe external urethral sphincter muscle (EUS) plays an important role in urinary function and often contributes to urinary dysfunction. EUS study would benefit from methodology for longitudinal recording of electromyographic activity (EMG) in unanesthetized animals, but this muscle is a poor substrate for chronic intramuscular electrodes, and thus the required methodology has not been available. We describe a method for long-term recording of EUS EMG by implantation of fine wires adjacent to the EUS that are secured to the pubic bone. Wires pass subcutaneously to a skull-mounted plug and connect to the recording apparatus by a flexible cable attached to a commutator. A force transducer-mounted cup under a metabolic cage collected urine, allowing recording of EUS EMG and voided urine weight without anesthesia or restraint. Implant durability permitted EUS EMG recording during repeated (up to 3 times weekly) 24-h sessions for more than 8 wk. EMG and voiding properties were stable over weeks 2-8. The degree of EUS phasic activity (bursting) during voiding was highly variable, with an average of 25% of voids not exhibiting bursting. Electrode implantation adjacent to the EUS yielded stable EMG recordings over extended periods and eliminated the confounding effects of anesthesia, physical restraint, and the potential for dislodgment of the chronically implanted intramuscular electrodes. These results show that micturition in unanesthetized, unrestrained rats is usually, but not always, associated with EUS bursting. This methodology is applicable to studying EUS behavior during progression of gradually evolving disease and injury models and in response to therapeutic interventions.
10aAnimals10aElectrodes, Implanted10aElectromyography10aFemale10aPubic Bone10aRats10aRats, Sprague-Dawley10aUrethra10aUrination10aUrodynamics1 aLaPallo, Brandon, K1 aWolpaw, Jonathan1 aChen, Xiang Yang1 aCarp, Jonathan, S. uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2499089504388nas a2200385 4500008004100000022001400041245009500055210006900150260001200219300001100231490000800242520325500250653001003505653003403515653002103549653001003570653003603580653002403616653002703640653002103667653001103688653000903699653004103708653002803749100002603777700002503803700001403828700001903842700001403861700001503875700002503890700002103915700001803936856004803954 2011 eng d a1872-895200aTransition from the locked in to the completely locked-in state: a physiological analysis.0 aTransition from the locked in to the completely lockedin state a c06/2011 a925-330 v1223 aTo clarify the physiological and behavioral boundaries between locked-in (LIS) and the completely locked-in state (CLIS) (no voluntary eye movements, no communication possible) through electrophysiological data and to secure brain-computer-interface (BCI) communication.
Electromyography from facial muscles, external anal sphincter (EAS), electrooculography and electrocorticographic data during different psychophysiological tests were acquired to define electrophysiological differences in an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patient with an intracranially implanted grid of 112 electrodes for nine months while the patient passed from the LIS to the CLIS.
At the very end of the LIS there was no facial muscle activity, nor external anal sphincter but eye control. Eye movements were slow and lasted for short periods only. During CLIS event related brainpotentials (ERP) to passive limb movements and auditory stimuli were recorded, vibrotactile stimulation of different body parts resulted in no ERP response.
The results presented contradict the commonly accepted assumption that the EAS is the last remaining muscle under voluntary control and demonstrate complete loss of eye movements in CLIS. The eye muscle was shown to be the last muscle group under voluntary control. The findings suggest ALS as a multisystem disorder, even affecting afferent sensory pathways.
Auditory and proprioceptive brain-computer-interface (BCI) systems are the only remaining communication channels in CLIS.
10aAdult10aAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis10aArea Under Curve10aBrain10aCommunication Aids for Disabled10aDisease Progression10aElectroencephalography10aElectromyography10aHumans10aMale10aSignal Processing, Computer-Assisted10aUser-Computer Interface1 aMurguialday, Ramos, A1 aHill, Jeremy, Jeremy1 aBensch, M1 aMartens, S M M1 aHalder, S1 aNijboer, F1 aSchoelkopf, Bernhard1 aBirbaumer, Niels1 aGharabaghi, A uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2088829203540nas a2200457 4500008004100000022001400041245004900055210004100104260001200145300001100157490000700168520234400175653001002519653001502529653001402544653001002558653002702568653002702595653002102622653001302643653001102656653000902667653000902676653001902685653001102704653003102715653002702746653000902773653001302782653003302795653004102828653002802869100002302897700001902920700002102939700002002960700001802980700002102998700001503019856004803034 2007 eng d a1053-811900aAn MEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI).0 aMEGbased braincomputer interface BCI c07/2007 a581-930 v363 aBrain-computer interfaces (BCIs) allow for communicating intentions by mere brain activity, not involving muscles. Thus, BCIs may offer patients who have lost all voluntary muscle control the only possible way to communicate. Many recent studies have demonstrated that BCIs based on electroencephalography(EEG) can allow healthy and severely paralyzed individuals to communicate. While this approach is safe and inexpensive, communication is slow. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) provides signals with higher spatiotemporal resolution than EEG and could thus be used to explore whether these improved signal properties translate into increased BCI communication speed. In this study, we investigated the utility of an MEG-based BCI that uses voluntary amplitude modulation of sensorimotor mu and beta rhythms. To increase the signal-to-noise ratio, we present a simple spatial filtering method that takes the geometric properties of signal propagation in MEG into account, and we present methods that can process artifacts specifically encountered in an MEG-based BCI. Exemplarily, six participants were successfully trained to communicate binary decisions by imagery of limb movements using a feedback paradigm. Participants achieved significant mu rhythm self control within 32 min of feedback training. For a subgroup of three participants, we localized the origin of the amplitude modulated signal to the motor cortex. Our results suggest that an MEG-based BCI is feasible and efficient in terms of user training.
10aAdult10aAlgorithms10aArtifacts10aBrain10aElectroencephalography10aElectromagnetic Fields10aElectromyography10aFeedback10aFemale10aFoot10aHand10aHead Movements10aHumans10aMagnetic Resonance Imaging10aMagnetoencephalography10aMale10aMovement10aPrincipal Component Analysis10aSignal Processing, Computer-Assisted10aUser-Computer Interface1 aMellinger, Jürgen1 aSchalk, Gerwin1 aBraun, Christoph1 aPreissl, Hubert1 aRosenstiel, W1 aBirbaumer, Niels1 aKübler, A uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1747551102091nas 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/1615178102315nas a2200241 4500008004100000022001400041245006000055210005800115260001200173300001400185490000800199520163200207653002101839653002501860653001701885653001601902100002301918700002301941700002101964700001901985700002102004856004802025 2005 eng d a0165-027000aLong-term spinal reflex studies in awake behaving mice.0 aLongterm spinal reflex studies in awake behaving mice c12/2005 a134–1430 v1493 aThe increasing availability of genetic variants of mice has facilitated studies of the roles of specific molecules in specific behaviors. The contributions of such studies could be strengthened and extended by correlation with detailed information on the patterns of motor commands throughout the course of specific behaviors in freely moving animals. Previously reported methodologies for long-term recording of electromyographic activity (EMG) in mice using implanted electrodes were designed for intermittent, but not continuous operation. This report describes the fabrication, implantation, and utilization of fine wire electrodes for continuous long-term recordings of spontaneous and nerve-evoked EMG in mice. Six mice were implanted with a tibial nerve cuff electrode and EMG electrodes in soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. Wires exited through a skin button and traveled through an armored cable to an electrical commutator. In mice implanted for 59-144 days, ongoing EMG was monitored continuously (i.e., 24 h/day, 7 days/week) by computer for 18-92 days (total intermittent recording for 25-130 days). When the ongoing EMG criteria were met, the computer applied the nerve stimulus, recorded the evoked EMG response, and determined the size of the M-response (MR) and the H-reflex (HR). It continually adjusted stimulation intensity to maintain a stable MR size. Stable recordings of ongoing EMG, MR, and HR were obtained typically 3 weeks after implantation. This study demonstrates the feasibility of long-term continuous EMG recordings in mice for addressing a variety of neurophysiological and behavioral issues.10aElectromyography10aimplanted electrodes10aMonosynaptic10aSpinal Cord1 aCarp, Jonathan, S.1 aTennissen, Ann, M.1 aChen, Xiang Yang1 aSchalk, Gerwin1 aWolpaw, Jonathan uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1602684802917nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245009700055210006900152260001200221300001000233490000800243520213200251653002202383653001202405653002102417653001302438653001802451653002102469653000902490653004102499100001902540700002302559700002102582856004802603 2002 eng d a0165-027000aTemporal transformation of multiunit activity improves identification of single motor units.0 aTemporal transformation of multiunit activity improves identific c02/2002 a87-980 v1143 aThis report describes a temporally based method for identifying repetitive firing of motor units. This approach is ideally suited to spike trains with negative serially correlated inter-spike intervals (ISIs). It can also be applied to spike trains in which ISIs exhibit little serial correlation if their coefficient of variation (COV) is sufficiently low. Using a novel application of the Hough transform, this method (i.e. the modified Hough transform (MHT)) maps motor unit action potential (MUAP) firing times into a feature space with ISI and offset (defined as the latency from an arbitrary starting time to the first MUAP in the train) as dimensions. Each MUAP firing time corresponds to a pattern in the feature space that represents all possible MUAP trains with a firing at that time. Trains with stable ISIs produce clusters in the feature space, whereas randomly firing trains do not. The MHT provides a direct estimate of mean firing rate and its variability for the entire data segment, even if several individual MUAPs are obscured by firings from other motor units. Addition of this method to a shape-based classification approach markedly improved rejection of false positives using simulated data and identified spike trains in whole muscle electromyographic recordings from rats. The relative independence of the MHT from the need to correctly classify individual firings permits a global description of stable repetitive firing behavior that is complementary to shape-based approaches to MUAP classification.
10aAction Potentials10aAnimals10aElectromyography10aH-Reflex10aMotor Neurons10aMuscle, Skeletal10aRats10aSignal Processing, Computer-Assisted1 aSchalk, Gerwin1 aCarp, Jonathan, S.1 aWolpaw, Jonathan uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1185004302088nas a2200265 4500008004100000022001400041245006600055210006300121260001200184300001400196490000800210520131500218653003101533653001701564653002701581653002101608653001401629653001901643653002401662100002401686700001801710700002601728700002101754856004701775 1998 eng d a0013-469400aEEG-based communication: analysis of concurrent EMG activity.0 aEEGbased communication analysis of concurrent EMG activity c12/1998 a428–4330 v1073 aOBJECTIVE: Recent studies indicate that people can learn to control the amplitude of mu or beta rhythms in the EEG recorded from the scalp over sensorimotor cortex and can use that control to move a cursor to targets on the computer screen. While subjects do not move during performance, it is possible that inapparent or unconscious muscle contractions contribute to the changes in the mu and beta rhythm activity responsible for cursor movement. We evaluated this possibility. METHODS: EMG was recorded from 10 distal limb muscle groups while five trained subjects used mu or beta rhythms to move a cursor to targets at the bottom or top edge of a computer screen. RESULTS: EMG activity was very low during performance, averaging 4.0+/-4.4% (SD) of maximum voluntary contraction. Most important, the correlation, measured as r2, between target position and EMG activity averaged only 0.01+/-0.02, much lower than the correlation between target position and the EEG activity that controlled cursor movement, which averaged 0.39+/-0.18. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly support the conclusion that EEG-based cursor control does no depend on concurrent muscle activity. EEG-based communication and control might provide a new augmentative communication option for those with severe motor disabilities.10aaugmentative communication10aconditioning10aElectroencephalography10aElectromyography10amu rhythm10aRehabilitation10asensorimotor cortex1 aVaughan, Theresa, M1 aMiner, L., A.1 aMcFarland, Dennis, J.1 aWolpaw, Jonathan uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9922089