This study examined changes in corticomotor excitability and plasticity after a thumb abduction training task in young and old adults. Electromyographic (EMG) recordings were obtained from right abductor pollicis brevis (APB, target muscle) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM, control muscle) in 14 young (18-24 yr) and 14 old (61-82 yr) adults. The training task consisted of 300 ballistic abduction...

BACKGROUND Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is emerging as a promising adjuvant to enhance motor function. However, there has been increasing reservations about the reliability and variability of the neuromodulatory effects evoked by tDCS. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS The main purpose of this study was to explore the test-retest reliability and inter-individual variability of tDCS of th...

Therapeutic Use of High-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Stroke To the Editor: We read with great interest the article published by Kim et al on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)–induced corticomotor excitability and associated motor skill acquisition in chronic stroke.1 The authors used high-frequency (10 Hz) rTMS over the primary motor cortex contral...

One of the first steps in the acquisition of a new motor skill is the formation of motor memories. Here we tested the capacity of transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) applied over the motor cortex during motor practice to increase motor memory formation and retention. Nine healthy individuals underwent a crossover transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) study designed to test motor memory formati...

Neurology 2012;78:13–14 Rehabilitation of hemineglect is vexingly inadequate. Beyond its direct detrimental effect on visual-spatial function, hemineglect interferes with rehabilitation of cognitive and motor function.1 Interventions targeting this condition include relearning appropriate visuospatial scanning behaviors through practice and cuing, engaging the attentional system with exogenous ...

Limb immobilization and nonuse are well-known causes of corticomotor depression. While physical training can drive the recovery from nonuse-dependent corticomotor effects, it remains unclear if it is possible to gain access to motor cortex in alternative ways, such as through motor imagery (MI) or action observation (AO). Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to study the excitability of t...

Coincident hand and foot movements are more reliably performed in the same direction than in opposite directions. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to assess motor cortex function, we examined the physiological basis of these movements across three novel experiments. Experiment 1 demonstrated that upper limb corticomotor excitability changed in a way that facilitated isodirectional ...

Non-invasive electrophysiological and imaging techniques have recently made investigation of the intact behaving human brain possible. One of the most intriguing new research areas that have developed through these new technical advances is an improved understanding of the plastic adaptive changes in neuronal circuitries underlying improved performance in relation to skill training. Expansion o...

Vibratory stimulation but also motor imagery and action observation can induce corticomotor modulation, as a bottom-up stimulus top-down stimuli, respectively. However, it remains unknown whether the combination of imagery, observation, vibratory effectively increase excitability. This study aimed to investigate effect and/or in presence or absence stimulation, on excitability healthy young adu...