Authors: Tatyana Gerachshenko James W Stinear
Publish Date: 2007/07/31
Volume: 183, Issue: 4, Pages: 531-539
Abstract
Reciprocal control of antagonists is essential for coordinated limb movement While Ia afferent dependent reciprocal inhibition has been extensively studied reports of the control of antagonists during preparation for a motor action are limited It has been demonstrated that corticomotor CM excitability of antagonists is suppressed prior to wrist extension/flexion suggesting the existence of a precontraction cortical control mechanism for distal upper limb antagonists It is unknown whether precontraction suppression is evident in the control of proximal upper limb antagonists Here we used transcranial magnetic stimulation and a rhythmic motor task to assess precontraction changes in excitability of corticospinal pathways projecting to biceps brachii BB when BB was an agonist forearm supinator or an antagonist We found a suppression of motor evoked potential MEP amplitude in BB prior to pronator contraction and facilitation prior to BB contracting as a supinator The extent of modulation was more profound as the agonist contraction approached In contrast there was no suppression evident in brachioradialis and triceps brachii under similar conditions indicating that precontraction suppression was specific to the antagonist BB Our data in combination with published data from wrist muscles suggest that precontraction suppression of CM excitability may be a centrally induced mechanism to prevent antagonistic activity before Ia afferent dependent reciprocal inhibition is imposed The importance of assessment of this inhibitory mechanism in neurologically impaired populations is discussedWe are especially grateful to WZ Rymer MD PhD for his direction and financial support through a T32 grant from NIH PI WZR Additional financial support was provided by the AHA JWS We are grateful to Gowri Jayaram BS and Lynette R Santos MD for help with data collection and recruitment of subjects We are also grateful to subjects who volunteered for this study
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