AIM Healthy adult ageing of the human neuromuscular system is comprised of changes that include atrophy, weakness and slowed movements with reduced spinal motor neurone output expressed by lower motor unit discharge rates (MUDRs). The latter observation has been obtained mostly from hand and lower limb muscles. The purpose was to determine the extent to which elbow flexor and extensor contracti...

A man aged sixty-two years complained of inability to extend his left index finger and thumb. This paralysis had been progressing for about twelve weeks, and had been accompanied by pain in the upper arm radiating into the forearm. On examination, there was paralysis of the extensor muscles of the left thumb and index finger. There were no sensory changes. In the extensor muscles, just distal t...

Address for Correspondence: Prof. Dr. Anita Mahajan, Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India. E-Mail: [email protected] 1 Senior Resident, Department Of Anatomy, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India. *2 Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India. 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Santosh ...

The recent years brought a growing awareness for the existence of complex neuronal structures within the spinal cord that act as movement controllers. The presented pilot study addresses an extension of pure non-invasive spinal cord stimulation by adding an afferent input from electrically stimulated peripheral nerve. The goal was to assess electrophysiologically the influence of peripheral ner...

In Asia, many activities of daily living (ADL) are performed while sitting cross-legged on the floor. This sitting posture rotates the pelvis in a more dorsal direction and lumbar lordosis is more flattened than while sitting on a chair. Sitting cross-legged induces a greater load on the intervertebral discs and spine, especially when in a slumped position that is known to increase disc pressur...

Introduction lntra-abdominal pressure (IAP) is elevated during many functional tasks and has been argued to increase stability of the spine (Bartelink, 1957; Grillner et al., 1978; Daggfeldt and Thorstensson, 1997). Although several studies have shown a relationship between IAP and spinal stability (e.g. (Cresswell and Thorstensson, 1994; Cholewicki et al., 1999), it has been impossible to dete...

To examine the function of descending brain stem pathways in the control of locomotion, we have characterized the discharge patterns of identified vestibulo- and reticulospinal neurons (VSNs and RSNs, respectively) recorded from the lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) and the medullary reticular formation (MRF), during treadmill walking. Data during locomotion were obtained for 44 VSNs and for 63 ...

BACKGROUND On the one hand, stimulating the motor cortex at different spots may activate the same muscle and result in a muscle-specific cortical map. Maps of different muscles, which are functionally coupled, may present with a large overlap but may also show a relevant variability. On the other hand, stimulation of the motor cortex at one spot with different stimulation intensities results in...

Electrical activity is thought to be the primary neural stimulus regulating muscle mass, expression of myogenic regulatory factor genes, and cellular activity within skeletal muscle. However, the relative contribution of neural influences that are activity-dependent and -independent in modulating these characteristics is unclear. Comparisons of denervation (no neural influence) and spinal cord ...

The gait of normal subjects was examined electromyographically and the pattern was altered during preferential blockade of large nerve fibres to alternating activity in flexor and extensor muscles. The EMG activity was disrupted more in flexor than extensor muscles by preferential ischaemic blockade. Normal gait was associated with flexor contraction only when the foot was lifted and placed on ...