OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to calculate central motor conduction time (CMCT) of median and ulnar nerves in normal volunteers. Conduction time across the lower part of the brachial plexus was measured by using magnetic stimulation over the motor cortex and brachial plexus and recording the evoked response in hand muscles. DESIGN This descriptive study was done on 112 upper limbs...

We tested the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the motor cortex on the size of transcortical stretch and mixed nerve reflexes. Fourteen healthy subjects were investigated using either 25 min of 1 Hz rTMS or 30 min of 0.1 Hz rTMS paired with electrical stimulation of the motor point of the first dorsal interosseous muscle (FDI). Following treatment, we measured ...

BACKGROUND Many commonly used anesthetic agents produce a dose-dependent amplitude reduction and latency prolongation of evoked responses, which may impair diagnosis of intraoperative spinal cord injury. Dexmedetomidine is increasingly used as an adjunct for general anesthesia. Therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that dexmedetomidine does not have a clinically important effect on somat...

1. The involvement of the motor cortex during human walking was evaluated using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex at a variety of intensities. Recordings of EMG activity in tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus muscles during walking were rectified and averaged. 2. TMS of low intensity (below threshold for a motor-evoked potential, MEP) produced a suppression of ongoing EM...

The motor cortex can be excited in adults using electromagnetic stimulation, and the latency to the evoked muscle action potential allows an assessment of the integrity of corticospinal tracts. We applied this technique in children to describe the maturation of corticospinal tracts. The latency from cortical stimulation to the onset of the evoked muscle action potentials and the subject's heigh...

UNLABELLED The modulation of activity of the upper airway dilator and respiratory muscles plays a key role in the regulation of ventilation, but little is known about the link between their neuromuscular activation processes in vivo. This study investigated genioglossus and diaphragm responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation applied in different facilitatory conditions. The amplitude and l...

Songbirds sing complex, learned sequential utterance as communication signals [1], with an aid of auditory feedback [2]. To investigate the mechanisms of realtime song production and auditory-motor interaction [3], we measured auditory response latency in 5 telencephalic nuclei. Response latency was ordered as in the anatomical hierarchy in this system. At the nucleus where the direct and recur...

Acknowledgments First and farmost, I would like to thank my thesis supervisor Dr. François Tremblay for his time and guidance throughout my research project. Thanks to him I was not only able successfully complete my project, but also have the opportunity to develop as a researcher by participating at various conferences. I extend my gratitude to Sabah Master for her help in data collection as ...

Rapid-rate paired associative stimulation (rPAS) involves repeat pairing of peripheral nerve stimulation and Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulses at a 5 Hz frequency. RPAS over primary motor cortex (M1) operates with spike-timing dependent plasticity such that increases in corticospinal excitability occur when the nerve and TMS pulse temporally coincide in cortex. The present study in...

The primary mode of action of local anesthetics is through sodium channel and axonal conduction blockade. Local anesthetics have also extensive effects on pre-synaptic calcium channels that must function to stimulate the release of neurotransmitters. Thus, interference with calcium channel conductance may enhance spinal anesthesia with local anesthetics. The present study was designed to invest...