Search results for " Reflex"
showing 10 items of 241 documents
Sudomotor testing predicts the presence of neutralizing botulinum A toxin antibodies.
2002
The increasing number of patients being treated with botulinum toxin A complex (BoNT/A) has led to a higher incidence of neutralizing anti-BoNT/A antibodies (ABAs). Because BoNT/A is known to inhibit sweating, here we report sudometry as a possibility for predicting the presence of ABA. Sixteen patients suffering from spasmodic torticollis were selected: in 2 patients, BoNT/A treatment continued to be effective, in 9 patients, the treatment effect was impaired, and in 5 patients, secondary treatment failure developed. BoNT/A (100 mouse units, Dysport; Ipsen Pharma, Berkshire, United Kingdom) was injected subcutaneously into the lateral calves. Sweating was visualized with iodine starch stai…
Gag reflex control through acupuncture: a case series.
2014
Background Many patients avoid dental appointments because of severe gagging when they have work performed, such as taking impressions. There are several methods known to alleviate gagging, and some studies have suggested that acupuncture may be effective in reducing gag reflex. The aim of the present study therefore was to evaluate whether acupuncture can produce a reduction of the gag reflex. Methods A total of 20 patients, aged between 19 and 80 years, with history of gag reflex on taking dental impressions, were recruited. All patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria had an upper and lower dental alginate impression taken without acupuncture, and a second upper and lower alginate impr…
Inter-hemispheric remapping between arm proprioception and vision of the hand is disrupted by single pulse TMS on the left parietal cortex.
2013
International audience; Parietal cortical areas are involved in sensori-motor transformations for their respective contralateral hemifield/body. When arms of the subjects are crossed while their gaze is fixed straight ahead, vision of the hand is processed by the hemisphere ipsilateral to the arm position and proprioception of the arm by the contralateral hemisphere. It induces interhemispheric transfer and remapping. Our objective was to investigate whether a single pulse TMS applied to the left parietal cortical area would disturb interhemispheric remapping in a similar case, and would increase a simple reaction time (RT) with respect to a control single pulse TMS applied to the frontal c…
Fixation suppression of optokinetic nystagmus modulates cortical visual-vestibular interaction.
2005
Water activation positron emission tomography and statistical group analysis were used to evaluate differences in activation-deactivation patterns during small-field visual motion stimulation, eliciting rightward optokinetic nystagmus and its fixation suppression in 12 healthy volunteers. Bilateral patterns of activation in the visual cortex, including the motion-sensitive area MT/V5, and deactivations in an assembly of vestibular areas (posterior insula, thalamus, anterior cingulate gyrus) during optokinetic nystagmus was markedly diminished or totally absent during its fixation suppression. This finding agrees with the concept of a reciprocal inhibitory interaction between the visual-opto…
Modulation of spinal cord excitability by subthreshold repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the primary motor cortex in humans.
2001
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) allows the modulation of intra-cortical excitability and may therefore affect the descending control of spinal excitability. We applied rTMS at subthreshold intensity and 1 Hz frequency for 10 min to the left primary motor cortex representation of the flexor carpi radialis muscle (FCR) in 10 subjects and assessed the H and M responses to median nerve stimulation before and after the rTMS. Following rTMS, H wave thresholds significantly reduced by ∼20%. Maximal H but not M wave amplitude significantly increased over the baseline, so that H/M amplitude ratio was increased by 41%. Sham stimulation did not induce any noticeable change in M or …
Facilitated neurogenic inflammation in unaffected limbs of patients with complex regional pain syndrome.
2003
Pain, edema, increased skin temperature, reddening and trophic changes characterize complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Recently, we have been able to show facilitated neurogenic inflammation on the affected limb. In the current study unaffected limbs were examined after resolution of the CRPS symptoms to assess possible generalized changes predisposing to CRPS. In 12 patients and in 12 healthy volunteers dermal microdialysis in combination with electrical C-fiber stimulation was employed to induce neuropeptide release. Dialysate protein concentration and axon reflex vasodilation were measured. Neither in patients nor in controls did electrical stimulation lead to protein extravasation, …
Stretch Reflex Responses Following Mechanical Stimulation in Power- and Endurance-Trained Athletes
1994
The basic stretch reflex responses evoked by the mechanical stimuli were investigated among different athletic groups. The tests were performed by a special ankle ergometer, which created dorsiflexion velocities from 25 deg x s-1 to 115 deg x s-1 around the ankle joint. The EMG activity of soleus (SO), gastrocnemius (GA) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles was recorded with surface electrodes. In all subjects higher angular velocities caused higher stretch reflex responses. The endurance-trained athletes were more sensitive to the used stimuli than the power-trained athletes, because of their shorter latency times (43 +/- 7 ms vs 45 +/- 7 ms, p < 0.001 for the SO muscle and 40 +/- 8 ms vs 43…
Neuromuscular performance of lower limbs during voluntary and reflex activity in power- and endurance-trained athletes.
1994
Neural, mechanical and muscle factors influence muscle force production. This study was, therefore, designed to compare possible differences in the function of the neuromuscular system among differently adapted subjects. A group of 11 power-trained athletes and 10 endurance-trained athletes volunteered as subjects for this study. Maximal voluntary isometric force and the rate of force production of the knee extensor and the plantar flexor muscles were measured. In addition, basic reflex function was measured in the two experimental conditions. The power athletes produced higher voluntary forces (P<0.01-0.001) with higher rates for force production (P<0.001) by both muscle groups measured. U…
Neuromuscular Adaptations to Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Training in Female Ice-Hockey Players
2019
Kinnunen, J-V, Piitulainen, H, and Piirainen, JM. Neuromuscular adaptations to short-term high-intensity interval training in female ice-hockey players. J Strength Cond Res 33(2): 479-485, 2019-High-intensity interval training (HIIT)-related neuromuscular adaptations, changes in force production, and on-ice performance were investigated in female ice-hockey players during preseason. Fourteen Finnish championship level ice-hockey players (average age 22 ± 3 years) participated in 2½-week HIIT. Both spinal (H-reflex) and supraspinal (V-wave) neuromuscular responses of the soleus muscle were recorded before and after the training period. Static jump (SJ) and countermovement jump heights, plant…
Cortical stimulation and reflex excitability of spinal cord neurones in man.
1995
The H reflex technique was used to evaluate the influence exerted by cortical conditioning on the excitability of the alpha-motoneurone pool and on IA interneuronal activity (reciprocal inhibition). In ten subjects at absolute rest electrical and magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex was transcranially applied during flexor carpi radialis H reflex eliciting and in conditions of reciprocal inhibition induced by radial nerve stimulation. The time courses showed that at intensities below motor threshold, electrical brain conditioning induced an increase in the amplitude of the test reflex when the cortical shock was given 4 ms after the test H reflex. On the contrary, reciprocal inhibition …