Ziemann U, Winter M, Reimers CD, Reimers K, Tergau F, Paulus W. Impaired motor cortex inhibition in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Evidence from paired transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Neurology 1997;
49:1292-8. [PMID:
9371911 DOI:
10.1212/wnl.49.5.1292]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated 14 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by paired conditioning-test transcranial magnetic stimulation to test the hypothesis that the motor cortex is hyperexcitable in ALS. Intracortical (corticocortical) inhibition was significantly less in the ALS group than in an age-matched healthy control group (85.3 +/- 27.0% versus 45.2 +/- 15.5%, respectively; p < 0.0001). In contrast, intracortical facilitation, motor threshold, and cortical silent period duration in the ALS patients were not different from the control group. We suggest that the selective abnormality of intracortical inhibition is best compatible with an impaired function of inhibitory interneuronal circuits in the motor cortex that in turn renders the corticomotoneuron hyperexcitable.
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