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Modulation of soleus corticospinal excitability during Achilles tendon vibration

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Abstract

Soleus (SOL) corticospinal excitability has been reported to increase during Achilles tendon vibration. The aim of the present study was to further investigate SOL corticospinal excitability and elucidate the changes to intracortical mechanisms during Achilles tendon vibration. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were elicited in the SOL by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the corresponding motor cortical area of the leg with and without 50-Hz Achilles tendon vibration. SOL input–output curves were determined. Paired-pulse protocols were also performed to investigate short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) by conditioning test TMS pulses with sub-threshold TMS pulses at inter-stimulus intervals of 3 and 13 ms, respectively. During Achilles tendon vibration, motor threshold was lower than in the control condition (43 ± 13 vs. 49 ± 11 % of maximal stimulator output; p = 0.008). Input–output curves were also influenced by vibration, i.e. there was increased maximal MEP amplitude (0.694 ± 0.347 vs. 0.268 ± 0.167 mV; p < 0.001), decreased TMS intensity to elicit a MEP of half the maximal MEP amplitude (100 ± 13 vs. 109 ± 9 % motor threshold; p = 0.009) and a strong tendency for decreased slope constant (0.076 ± 0.04 vs. 0.117 ± 0.04; p = 0.068). Vibration reduced ICF (98 ± 61 vs. 170 ± 105 % of test MEP amplitude; p = 0.05), but had no effect on SICI (53 ± 26 vs. 48 ± 22 % of test MEP amplitude; p = 0.68). The present results further document the increased vibration-induced corticospinal excitability in the soleus muscle and suggest that this increase is not mediated by changes in SICI or ICF.

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Abbreviations

I 50 :

Stimulus intensity required to obtain a MEP amplitude of half the size of the plateau

ICF:

Intracortical facilitation

MEP:

Motor-evoked potential

MEPa :

MEP amplitude

P :

Plateau of the input–output curve

rMT:

Resting motor threshold

SICI:

Short-interval intracortical inhibition

SOL:

Soleus

TMS:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation

vMT:

Vibrating motor threshold

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Acknowledgments

We sincerely acknowledge Dr Léonard Féasson for conducting medical inclusions and Régis Bonnefoy for technical assistance. J.T. was supported by a doctoral research grant from the Rhône-Alpes Region. P.A. was supported by a doctoral research grant from the General Directorate for Armament, Ministry of Defence (France).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physiologie de l’Exercice, Université de Lyon, 42000, Saint-Étienne, France

    Thomas Lapole, John Temesi, Pierrick J. Arnal, Philippe Gimenez & Guillaume Y. Millet

  2. Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    John Temesi & Guillaume Y. Millet

  3. French Armed Forces Biomedical Research Institute (IRBA), Brétigny-sur-Orge, France

    Pierrick J. Arnal

  4. Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada

    Philippe Gimenez

  5. Unité 1179 INSERM End: cap, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France

    Michel Petitjean

  6. Service de Physiologie-Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Ambroise Paré, AP-HP, Boulogne-Billancourt, France

    Michel Petitjean

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  1. Thomas Lapole
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  2. John Temesi
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  3. Pierrick J. Arnal
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  6. Guillaume Y. Millet
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Correspondence to Thomas Lapole.

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Lapole, T., Temesi, J., Arnal, P.J. et al. Modulation of soleus corticospinal excitability during Achilles tendon vibration. Exp Brain Res 233, 2655–2662 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-015-4336-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-015-4336-3

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