Chalard A, Amarantini D, Tisseyre J, Marque P, Gasq D. Spastic co-contraction is directly associated with altered cortical beta oscillations after stroke.
Clin Neurophysiol 2020;
131:1345-1353. [PMID:
32304849 DOI:
10.1016/j.clinph.2020.02.023]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Spastic co-contraction is a motor-disabling form of muscle overactivity occurring after a stroke, contributing to a limitation in active movement and a certain level of motor impairment. The cortical mechanisms underlying spastic co-contraction remain to be more fully elucidated, the present study aimed to investigate the role of the cortical beta oscillations in spastic co-contraction after a stroke.
METHOD
We recruited fifteen post-stroke participants and nine healthy controls. The participants were asked to perform active elbow extensions. In the study, multimodal analysis was performed to combine the evaluation of three-dimensional elbow kinematics, the elbow muscles electromyographic activations, and the cortical oscillatory activity.
RESULTS
The movement-related beta desynchronization was significantly decreased in post-stroke participants compared to healthy participants. We found a significant correlation between the movement-related beta desynchronization and the elbow flexors activation during the active elbow extension in post-stroke participants. When compared to healthy participants, post-stroke participants exhibited significant alterations in the elbow kinematics and greater muscle activation levels.
CONCLUSIONS
Cortical beta oscillation alterations may reflect an important neural mechanism underlying spastic co-contraction after a stroke.
SIGNIFICANCE
Measuring the cortical oscillatory activity could be useful to further characterize neuromuscular plasticity induced by recovery or therapeutic interventions.
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