TY - JOUR
T1 - A method to reversibly degrade proprioceptive feedback in research on human motor control
AU - Bock, Otmar
AU - Pipereit, Katja
AU - Mierau, Andreas
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - 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 proprioceptive 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 1mm. 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.
AB - 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 proprioceptive 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 1mm. 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.
KW - Adaptation, Physiological/physiology
KW - Adult
KW - Afferent Pathways/physiology
KW - Cues
KW - Denervation/instrumentation/methods
KW - Feedback/physiology
KW - Female
KW - H-Reflex/physiology
KW - Hand/physiology
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Mechanoreceptors/physiology
KW - Motor Skills/physiology
KW - Movement/physiology
KW - Muscle Contraction/physiology
KW - Muscle, Skeletal/physiology
KW - Neurophysiology/instrumentation/methods
KW - Physical Stimulation/instrumentation/methods
KW - Proprioception/physiology
KW - Touch/physiology
KW - Vibration/adverse effects
U2 - 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2006.09.010
DO - 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2006.09.010
M3 - Journal articles
SN - 0165-0270
VL - 160
SP - 246
EP - 250
JO - Journal of neuroscience methods
JF - Journal of neuroscience methods
IS - 2
ER -