Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE METHODS
Volume 160, Issue 2, Pages 246-250Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2006.09.010
Keywords
proprioception; touch; vibration; deafferentation; H-reflex; sensorimotor system
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In research on human motor skills, it is often desirable to manipulate proprioceptive feedback in order to determine its contribution towards subjects' performance. Here we evaluate an easy-to-use, non-invasive method to temporarily reduce proptioceptive responsiveness. Two physiotherapy vibrators contacted the distal end of the subjects' forearm on the flexor and extensor side; they were either turned off, or they vibrated at 80 Hz with an amplitude of I mm. We found that vibration substantially impaired subjects' ability to use their hand in an angle matching, a force production and a haptic shape perception task. We also found that vibration strongly attenuated the H-reflex of the ipsilateral M. flexor carpi radialis. These results suggest that agonist-antagonist vibration is a useful method to degrade proprioceptive responsiveness for research on higher motor functions. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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