Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex

The state and excitability of pattern generators are attracting the increasing interest of neurophysiologists and clinicians for understanding the mechanisms of the rhythmogenesis and neuromodulation of the human spinal cord. It has been previously shown that tonic sensory stimulation can elicit non...

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Main Authors: Irina A. Solopova, Victor A. Selionov, Egor O. Blinov, Irina Y. Dolinskaya, Dmitry S. Zhvansky, Francesco Lacquaniti, Yury Ivanenko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Biology
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/5/707
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author Irina A. Solopova
Victor A. Selionov
Egor O. Blinov
Irina Y. Dolinskaya
Dmitry S. Zhvansky
Francesco Lacquaniti
Yury Ivanenko
author_facet Irina A. Solopova
Victor A. Selionov
Egor O. Blinov
Irina Y. Dolinskaya
Dmitry S. Zhvansky
Francesco Lacquaniti
Yury Ivanenko
author_sort Irina A. Solopova
collection DOAJ
description The state and excitability of pattern generators are attracting the increasing interest of neurophysiologists and clinicians for understanding the mechanisms of the rhythmogenesis and neuromodulation of the human spinal cord. It has been previously shown that tonic sensory stimulation can elicit non-voluntary stepping-like movements in non-injured subjects when their limbs were placed in a gravity-neutral unloading apparatus. However, large individual differences in responsiveness to such stimuli were observed, so that the effects of sensory neuromodulation manifest only in some of the subjects. Given that spinal reflexes are an integral part of the neuronal circuitry, here we investigated the extent to which spinal pattern generation excitability in response to the vibrostimulation of muscle proprioceptors can be related to the H-reflex magnitude, in both the lower and upper limbs. For the H-reflex measurements, three conditions were used: stationary limbs, voluntary limb movement and passive limb movement. The results showed that the H-reflex was considerably higher in the group of participants who demonstrated non-voluntary rhythmic responses than it was in the participants who did not demonstrate them. Our findings are consistent with the idea that spinal reflex measurements play important roles in assessing the rhythmogenesis of the spinal cord.
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spelling doaj.art-b6473474f5354890b6ab9922123c7a9f2023-11-23T10:07:19ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372022-05-0111570710.3390/biology11050707Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann ReflexIrina A. Solopova0Victor A. Selionov1Egor O. Blinov2Irina Y. Dolinskaya3Dmitry S. Zhvansky4Francesco Lacquaniti5Yury Ivanenko6Laboratory of Neurobiology of Motor Control, Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, 127951 Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Neurobiology of Motor Control, Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, 127951 Moscow, RussiaSchool of Biological and Medical Physics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 141701 Dolgoprudny, RussiaLaboratory of Neurobiology of Motor Control, Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, 127951 Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Neurobiology of Motor Control, Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, 127951 Moscow, RussiaLaboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, ItalyLaboratory of Neuromotor Physiology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, 00179 Rome, ItalyThe state and excitability of pattern generators are attracting the increasing interest of neurophysiologists and clinicians for understanding the mechanisms of the rhythmogenesis and neuromodulation of the human spinal cord. It has been previously shown that tonic sensory stimulation can elicit non-voluntary stepping-like movements in non-injured subjects when their limbs were placed in a gravity-neutral unloading apparatus. However, large individual differences in responsiveness to such stimuli were observed, so that the effects of sensory neuromodulation manifest only in some of the subjects. Given that spinal reflexes are an integral part of the neuronal circuitry, here we investigated the extent to which spinal pattern generation excitability in response to the vibrostimulation of muscle proprioceptors can be related to the H-reflex magnitude, in both the lower and upper limbs. For the H-reflex measurements, three conditions were used: stationary limbs, voluntary limb movement and passive limb movement. The results showed that the H-reflex was considerably higher in the group of participants who demonstrated non-voluntary rhythmic responses than it was in the participants who did not demonstrate them. Our findings are consistent with the idea that spinal reflex measurements play important roles in assessing the rhythmogenesis of the spinal cord.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/5/707pattern generation circuitryspinal cord neuromodulationsensory stimulationrhythmogenesisH-reflexhuman
spellingShingle Irina A. Solopova
Victor A. Selionov
Egor O. Blinov
Irina Y. Dolinskaya
Dmitry S. Zhvansky
Francesco Lacquaniti
Yury Ivanenko
Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex
Biology
pattern generation circuitry
spinal cord neuromodulation
sensory stimulation
rhythmogenesis
H-reflex
human
title Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex
title_full Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex
title_fullStr Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex
title_full_unstemmed Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex
title_short Higher Responsiveness of Pattern Generation Circuitry to Sensory Stimulation in Healthy Humans Is Associated with a Larger Hoffmann Reflex
title_sort higher responsiveness of pattern generation circuitry to sensory stimulation in healthy humans is associated with a larger hoffmann reflex
topic pattern generation circuitry
spinal cord neuromodulation
sensory stimulation
rhythmogenesis
H-reflex
human
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/11/5/707
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