Effects of cutaneous activation on contralateral reflex modulation during gait in humans

• Grant number: 12/05304-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): July 20, 2012
• Effective date (End): October 19, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Bioengineering
• Principal Investigator: André Fábio Kohn
• Grantee: Rinaldo André Mezzarane
• Supervisor: Tomoyoshi Komiyama
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Chiba University, Japan
• Associated to the scholarship: 10/15522-4 - Proposal of a mechanical stimulator for the study of synchronous bilateral fluctuations in reflex excitability of humans, BP.PD

Abstract

The current project aims at examining reflex modulations during gait in human subjects. This study is an extension of an ongoing investigation on bilateral reflex modulation in seated humans. A complementary study on seated subjects, proposed for the second year of the fellowship, will be finished on the PD fellow's return from his internship in Japan. The main tool for studying changes in the excitability of the stretch reflex pathway during gait will be the H-reflex. This reflex response will be conditioned by the activation of contralateral cutaneous afferents. The interaction between mechanisms responsible for reflex modulation and the signaling from contralateral afferents contributes towards a coordinated action of the legs during gait. The proposed protocol is similar to that described in the first report, that evaluated contralateral effects from Ia muscle afferents onto presynaptic mechanisms in seated subjects (the manuscript is currently under review in the Journal of Neurophysiology). We strongly believe that an extension of the current paradigm, approaching functional aspects during the performance of a motor task such as locomotion, will provide relevant data to better understand the neurophysiology of motor control. Additionally, this new approach might result in an enhancement and development of diagnosis and rehabilitation procedures for motor disorders. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SUZUKI, SHINYA; NAKAJIMA, TSUYOSHI; MEZZARANE, RINALDO A.; OHTSUKA, HIROYUKI; FUTATSUBASHI, GENKI; KOMIYAMA, TOMOYOSHI. Differential regulation of crossed cutaneous effects on the soleus H-reflex during standing and walking in humans. Experimental Brain Research, v. 232, n. 10, p. 3069-3078, OCT 2014. (12/05304-5)

NAKAJIMA, TSUYOSHI; TAZOE, TOSHIKI; SAKAMOTO, MASANORI; ENDOH, TAKASHI; SHIBUYA, SATOSHI; ELIAS, LEONARDO A.; MEZZARANE, RINALDO A.; KOMIYAMA, TOMOYOSHI; OHKI, YUKARI. Reassessment of Non-Monosynaptic Excitation from the Motor Cortex to Motoneurons in Single Motor Units of the Human Biceps Brachii. FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE, v. 11, JAN 30 2017. (13/10433-1, 12/05304-5, 09/15802-0)

SUZUKI, SHINYA; NAKAJIMA, TSUYOSHI; FUTATSUBASHI, GENKI; MEZZARANE, RINALDO A.; OHTSUKA, HIROYUKI; OHKI, YUKARI; ZEHR, E. PAUL; KOMIYAMA, TOMOYOSHI. Soleus Hoffmann reflex amplitudes are specifically modulated by cutaneous inputs from the arms and opposite leg during walking but not standing. Experimental Brain Research, v. 234, n. 8, p. 2293-2304, AUG 2016. (12/05304-5)

SUZUKI, SHINYA; NAKAJIMA, TSUYOSHI; FUTATSUBASHI, GENKI; MEZZARANE, RINALDO A.; OHTSUKA, HIROYUKI; OHKI, YUKARI; KOMIYAMA, TOMOYOSHI. Phase-dependent reversal of the crossed conditioning effect on the soleus Hoffmann reflex from cutaneous afferents during walking in humans. Experimental Brain Research, v. 234, n. 2, p. 617-626, FEB 2016. (12/05304-5)