Operant Up-Conditioning of the Tibialis Anterior Motor-Evoked Potential in Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility Case Studies
Joint Authors
Thompson, Aiko K.
Favale, Briana M.
Velez, Jacqueline
Falivena, Patricia
Source
Issue
Vol. 2018, Issue 2018 (31 Dec. 2018), pp.1-10, 10 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2018-07-15
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
10
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Damage to the corticospinal pathway often results in weak dorsiflexion of the ankle, thereby limiting the mobility of people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Thus, strengthening corticospinal connectivity may improve locomotion.
Here, we investigated the feasibility of tibialis anterior (TA) motor-evoked potential (MEP) operant conditioning and whether it can enhance corticospinal excitability and alleviate locomotor problems in people with chronic stable MS.
The protocol consisted of 6 baseline and 24 up-conditioning sessions over 10 weeks.
In all sessions, TA MEPs were elicited at 10% above active threshold while the sitting subject provided 30–35% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) level of TA background EMG.
During baseline sessions, MEPs were simply measured.
During conditioning trials of the conditioning sessions, the subject was encouraged to increase MEP and was given immediate feedback indicating whether MEP size was above a criterion.
In 3/4 subjects, TA MEP increased 32–75%, MVC increased 28–52%, locomotor EMG modulation improved in multiple leg muscles, and foot drop became less severe.
In one of them, MEP and MVC increases were maintained throughout 3 years of extensive follow-up sessions.
These initial results support a therapeutic possibility of MEP operant conditioning for improving locomotion in people with MS or other CNS disorders, such as spinal cord injury and stroke.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Thompson, Aiko K.& Favale, Briana M.& Velez, Jacqueline& Falivena, Patricia. 2018. Operant Up-Conditioning of the Tibialis Anterior Motor-Evoked Potential in Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility Case Studies. Neural Plasticity،Vol. 2018, no. 2018, pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1210105
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Thompson, Aiko K.…[et al.]. Operant Up-Conditioning of the Tibialis Anterior Motor-Evoked Potential in Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility Case Studies. Neural Plasticity No. 2018 (2018), pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1210105
American Medical Association (AMA)
Thompson, Aiko K.& Favale, Briana M.& Velez, Jacqueline& Falivena, Patricia. Operant Up-Conditioning of the Tibialis Anterior Motor-Evoked Potential in Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility Case Studies. Neural Plasticity. 2018. Vol. 2018, no. 2018, pp.1-10.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1210105
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1210105