Motor unit potential contribution to surface electromyography

The background of the bioelectric activity of muscle recorded from the surface of the skin (surface electromyography) in terms of the representation of single motor units of the underlying muscle(s) is not very well documented or understood. An insight into the composition of an electromyogram is essential for the proper interpretation of one of the most widely applied electrophysiological techniques. In the present paper, a study of the contribution of single motor unit potentials to the surface electromyogram is presented. To this end, the decline of different components of the motor unit potential with depth of the motor unit is quantified. Experimentally, the action potentials from motor units at several positions in the muscle were recorded by 30 skin surface electrodes. Simultaneous use of scanning electromyography provided information about the actual position and size of the motor unit. Observed linear log–log relationships between motor unit potential magnitudes and distance indicated the usefulness of a power function to describe the motor unit potential's dependence on recording distance. It is shown that different specific surface motor unit potential characteristics fall off differently with depth. The magnitude–distance relationship is shown to be dependent on the recording configuration (unipolar vs. bipolar recording, including the inter-electrode distance) and the chosen motor unit potential parameter (negative peak amplitude, positive peak amplitude and area).     

Influence of peripheral afferents on cortical and spinal motoneuron excitability.

The objective of this study was to establish to what extent muscle, cutaneous, and joint afferents alter the excitability of spinal and cortical motor neurons. This question was examined by studying the impact of electrical stimulation of the second and third digits, the median nerve at the wrist, and the recurrent thenar motor branch on the F/H and magneto-electrical cortical motor responses (MEPs) of the thenar muscles. The firing frequencies of single F/H motor unit action potentials were unaltered by the foregoing conditioning peripheral stimuli. MEPs conditioned by motor threshold stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist or the recurrent motor branch were significantly increased in size at conditioning to test intervals of 50 to 80 milliseconds. No significant change in MEP size resulted from conditioning stimulation of the digital nerves. We conclude that muscle afferents were primarily responsible for the increase in MEP size. Conditioning stimuli may allow examiners to assess central motor conduction where it would otherwise be impossible.     

Effect of cognitive and motor tasks on postural stability in Parkinson's disease: a posturographic study.

To analyse the effect of concomitant cognitive or motor task performance on balance control in Parkinson's disease (PD), we performed a posturographic study in 24 PD patients and in 20 sex- and age-matched control subjects. Postural sway was measured with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) during quiet stance and during performance of calculation or motor sequence of thumb opposition to the other fingers. No difference of centre of foot pressure (COP) parameters was observed during quiet standing (either EO or EC) between patients and controls, but visual deprivation induced in both groups a worsening of postural stability. COP area was significantly increased in PD patients during dual task performance, whereas no difference of COP path and x-y axes was observed. The effects induced by the performance of cognitive or motor task were significantly more evident in PD patients with clinical evidence of postural instability (presence of prior falls in the history). This study demonstrates that dual task interference on postural control can be observed in PD patients during performance of cognitive as well as motor tasks. The balance deterioration during dual task performance was significantly enhanced in patients with history of prior falls. These findings have some implications for the strategies to be used in reducing the risk of fall in PD.     

Altered Excitability of the Motor Cortex after Minor Head Injury Revealed by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Summary This study attempts to find out whether the motor evoked potential (MEP) elicited by single pulse and slow-rate (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can disclose concealed subclinical impairments in the cerebral motor system of patients with minor head injury. The motor response to single pulse TMS (STMS) of the patient groups was characterized by significantly higher threshold compared with that of the control group. The central motor conduction time, as well as the peripheral conduction time were normal in all patients pointing to cortical impairment. Two main patterns of MEP changes in response to repetitive TMS (RTMS) were observed in the patient group. A. – progressive decrease of the MEP amplitude throughout the stimulation session to a near complete abolition. B. – irregularity of the amplitude and the waveform of the MEP in a chaotic form. The MEP latency remained stable during the whole stimulation session. The MEP abnormalities recovered gradually over the period of a few months. The higher threshold of the motor response to STMS and the abnormal patterns of the MEP to RTMS seem to reflect transient impairment of cortical excitability or “cortical fatigue” in patients who sustained minor head injures. Further study is needed to evaluated the extent and the pathophysiological mechanisms of the central nervous system fatigue phenomenon following head injury.     

老龄者视觉运动反应时状态观察

通过对不同年龄段人群视觉运动反应时的测定，确认伴随增龄反应时明显呈梯度延长，而且与心电图ＳＴ－Ｔ改变以及甲皱微循环指标无明确的相关关系，视觉运动反应时具有独立地反映老上得衰老程度的生物标志意义。     

下腹部多个真皮下血管网皮瓣在手外伤修复中的应用

目的：应用下腹部多个真皮下血管网皮瓣修复手外伤，方法：在下腹形成以旋髂浅血管为蒂的髂腰部皮瓣及以腹壁浅血管为蒂的下腹部皮瓣，二皮瓣共蒂形成双叶皮瓣，同时将其修薄，形成有轴心血管的真皮下血管网皮瓣，修复两指完全脱套伤。在下腹部形成多个真皮下血管网的任意皮瓣，修复多个指背皮肤缺损伴有肌腱及骨外露的创面。供区如不能直接拉拢缝合，可取断层皮片修复供区创面.结果：本组10例中，8例采用下腹部双叶真皮下血管网轴型皮瓣修复，2例采用下腹部真皮下血管网任意皮瓣修复，术后效果。结论：采用多个真皮下血管网皮瓣修复手外伤的创面，伤指不需并指，去脂，分指，术后外形佳，是目前较理想的修复手外伤的手术方法。     

氨基胍对大鼠脊髓压迫伤后后肢运动功能的影响

目的观察诱导型一氧化氮合酶抑制剂-氨基胍(AG)对大鼠脊髓损伤后运动功能的影响。方法大鼠脊髓压迫伤后给予AG进行治疗,24 h后用分光光度法测定脊髓组织中一氧化氮(NO)含量和NOS活性;72 h后用流式细胞仪检测神经细胞凋亡情况;4周后用电生理和动物行为学等指标评价运动功能的恢复情况。以正常大鼠和损伤未治大鼠为对照。结果AG可以抑制组织中的NO含量和NOS活性,同时降低神经细胞的凋亡比率,提高动物后肢运动功能评分,恢复运动诱发电位的振幅和潜伏期,与对照及损伤未治大鼠相比均有显著差异(P<0.05)。结论脊髓损伤后应用NOS抑制剂可以使伤后运动功能得到改善,提示iNOS活性变化可能对脊髓损伤的恢复更具决定作用,其作用机制与抑制伤后细胞凋亡有关。     

Effect of pulley integrity on excursions and work of flexion in healing flexor tendons

Effect of pulley integrity on excursions and work of flexion in healing flexor tendons@Wang YH @Gu YT @Chen F     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging in schizophrenia: cortical response to motor stimulation

Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggest that motor system abnormalities are present in schizophrenia. However, these studies have often produced conflicting or ambiguous findings. The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether activation differences could be identified in stable schizophrenic patients on the basis of BOLD measures in two motor regions, the primary motor cortex, Brodmann area 4 (BA4) and the premotor and supplementary motor area, Brodmann area 6 (BA6). Twenty-one schizophrenic patients and 21 healthy control subjects were studied with BOLD fMRI methods during a sequential finger tapping task. Statistical parametric maps were generated for each subject, and anatomic regions were automatically defined using an anatomic atlas. Compared with controls, the schizophrenic patients showed a significant reduction in contralateral activation for both BA4 and BA6 (P<0.001), and in ipsilateral activation in BA4 (P=0.007) and BA6 (P=0.002). In healthy controls, the coactivation in the ipsilateral cortex is reduced in comparison with the contralateral cortex for right and left handed tasks. In BA4, this reduction is significant for right (P=0.007) and left (P=0.003) finger tapping. Similar results were obtained for BA6. Further analyses are necessary to evaluate the activation in other motor system regions.     

Motor loss and swallowing difficulty after stroke: frequency, recovery, and prognosis.

Data relating to motor loss and swallowing difficulties in a community sample of 976 patients who suffered an acute stroke have been analysed. About 17% of patients seen within one week had no paralysis; at 6 months 48% of survivors had no paralysis and 9% had severe paralysis. The Motricity Index used to study motor loss related to functional loss and walking ability; it seems to be a simple valid measure of motor loss. Severe paralysis was associated with a high fatality rate, and only 6%-10% of survivors of an initially severe paralysis made a full recovery by 6 months. If severe persisted at 3 weeks, full recovery was not observed. Loss of sitting balance was associated with a poor outcome. Of conscious patients seen within one week, 14% choked on attempting to swallow and a further 28% had abnormal swallowing: this 42% of patients had a high fatality rate.