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Jadidi AF, Jensen W, Zarei AA, Lontis ER, Atashzar SF. From pulse width modulated TENS to cortical modulation: based on EEG functional connectivity analysis. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1239068. [PMID: 37600002 PMCID: PMC10433172 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1239068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Modulation in the temporal pattern of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), such as Pulse width modulated (PWM), has been considered a new dimension in pain and neurorehabilitation therapy. Recently, the potentials of PWM TENS have been studied on sensory profiles and corticospinal activity. However, the underlying mechanism of PWM TENS on cortical network which might lead to pain alleviation is not yet investigated. Therefore, we recorded cortical activity using electroencephalography (EEG) from 12 healthy subjects and assessed the alternation of the functional connectivity at the cortex level up to an hour following the PWM TENS and compared that with the effect of conventional TENS. The connectivity between eight brain regions involved in sensory and pain processing was calculated based on phase lag index and spearman correlation. The alteration in segregation and integration of information in the network were investigated using graph theory. The proposed analysis discovered several statistically significant network changes between PWM TENS and conventional TENS, such as increased local strength and efficiency of the network in high gamma-band in primary and secondary somatosensory sources one hour following stimulation. Our findings regarding the long-lasting desired effects of PWM TENS support its potential as a therapeutic intervention in clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armita Faghani Jadidi
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark
| | - Winnie Jensen
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark
| | - Ali Asghar Zarei
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark
| | - Eugen Romulus Lontis
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark
| | - S. Farokh Atashzar
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, New York, NY, United States
- NYU WIRELESS, New York University (NYU), New York, NY, United States
- NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), New York University (NYU), New York, NY, United States
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Eginyan G, Zhou X, Williams AMM, Lam T. Effects of motor stimulation of the tibial nerve on corticospinal excitability of abductor hallucis and pelvic floor muscles. FRONTIERS IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES 2023; 3:1089223. [PMID: 36726808 PMCID: PMC9884817 DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2022.1089223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Introduction Peripheral nerve stimulation can modulate the excitability of corticospinal pathways of muscles in the upper and lower limbs. Further, the pattern of peripheral nerve stimulation (continuous vs. intermittent) may be an important factor determining the modulation of this corticospinal excitability. The pelvic floor muscles (PFM) are crucial for maintaining urinary continence in humans, and share spinal segmental innervation with the tibial nerve. We explored the idea of whether the neuromodulatory effects of tibial nerve stimulation (TibNS) could induce effects on somatic pathways to the PFM. We evaluated the effects of two patterns of stimulation (intermittent vs. continuous) on corticospinal excitability of the PFM compared to its effect on the abductor hallucis (AH) muscle (which is directly innervated by the tibial nerve). We hypothesized that intermittent TibNS would increase, while continuous stimulation would decrease, the excitability of both AH and PFM. Methods Twenty able-bodied adults (20-33 years of age) enrolled in this study. TibNS was delivered either intermittently (1 ms pulses delivered at 30Hz with an on:off duty cycle of 600:400 ms, for 60 min), or continuously (1 ms pulses delivered at 30Hz for 36 min) just above the motor threshold of the AH. We randomized the order of the stimulation pattern and tested them on separate days. We used surface electromyography (EMG) to record motor-evoked responses (MEP) in the PFM and AH following transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). We generated stimulus-response (SR) curves to quantify the changes in peak-to-peak MEP amplitude relative to TMS intensity to assess changes in corticospinal excitability pre- and post-stimulation. Results and Conclusion We found that TibNS increased corticospinal excitability only to AH, with no effects in PFM. There was no difference in responses to continuous vs. intermittent stimulation. Our results indicate a lack of effect of TibNS on descending somatic pathways to the PFM, but further investigation is required to explore other stimulation parameters and whether neuromodulatory effects may be spinal in origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gevorg Eginyan
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada,School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Xueqing Zhou
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada,School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Alison M. M. Williams
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada,School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Tania Lam
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada,School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, BC, Canada,Correspondence: Tania Lam
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Jadidi AF, Stevenson AJT, Zarei AA, Jensen W, Lontis R. Effect of Modulated TENS on Corticospinal Excitability in Healthy Subjects. Neuroscience 2022; 485:53-64. [PMID: 35031397 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been reported to effectively alleviate chronic pain, including phantom limb pain (PLP). Recently, literature has focused on modulated TENS patterns, such as pulse width modulation (PWM) and burst modulation (BM), as alternatives to conventional, non-modulated (NM) sensory neurostimulation to increase the efficiency of rehabilitation. However, there is still limited knowledge of how these modulated TENS patterns affect corticospinal (CS) and motor cortex activity. Therefore, our aim was to first investigate the effect of modulated TENS patterns on CS activity and corticomotor map in healthy subjects. Motor evoked potentials (MEP) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were recorded from three muscles before and after the application of TENS interventions. Four different TENS patterns (PWM, BM, NM 40 Hz, and NM 100 Hz) were applied. The results revealed significant facilitation of CS excitability following the PWM intervention. We also found an increase in the volume of the motor cortical map following the application of the PWM and NM (40 Hz). Although PLP alleviation has been reported to be associated with an enhancement of corticospinal excitability, the efficiency of the PWM intervention to induce pain alleviation should be validated in a future clinical study in amputees with PLP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armita Faghani Jadidi
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP) Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark.
| | | | - Ali Asghar Zarei
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP) Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark
| | - Winnie Jensen
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP) Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark
| | - Romulus Lontis
- Center for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP) Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark
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Ishii D, Ishibashi K, Takeda K, Yuine H, Yamamoto S, Kaku Y, Yozu A, Kohno Y. Interaction of the Left-Right Somatosensory Pathways in Patients With Thalamic Hemorrhage: A Case Report. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:761186. [PMID: 34790107 PMCID: PMC8591027 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.761186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural plasticity compensates for the loss of motor function after stroke. However, whether neural plasticity occurs in the somatosensory pathways after stroke is unknown. We investigated the left–right somatosensory interaction in two hemorrhagic patients using a paired somatosensory evoked potentials (p-SEPs) recorded at CP3 and CP4, which was defined as an amplitude difference between the SEPs of paired median nerve stimulations to both sides and that of single stimulation to the affected side. Patient 1 (61-year-old, left thalamic hemorrhage) has a moderate motor impairment, severe sensory deficit, and complained of pain in the affected right upper limb. Patient 2 (72-year-old, right thalamic hemorrhage) had slight motor and sensory impairments with no complaints of pain. Single SEPs (s-SEPs) were obtained by stimulation of the right and left median nerves, respectively. For paired stimulations, 1 ms after the first stimulation to the non-affected side, followed by a second stimulation to the affected side. In patient 1, a s-SEP with stimulation to the non-affected side and a p-SEP were observed in CP4. However, a s-SEP was not observed in either hemisphere with stimulation to the affected side. On the other hand, in patient 2, a s-SEP in CP3 with stimulation to the non-affected side and in CP4 with stimulation to the affected side were observed; however, a p-SEP was not observed. In addition, to investigate the mechanism by which ipsilateral median nerve stimulation enhances contralateral p-SEP in patient 1, we compared the SEP averaged over the first 250 epochs with the SEP averaged over the second 250 epochs (total number of epochs recorded: 500). The results showed that in the patient 1, when the bilateral median nerve was stimulated continuously, the habituation did not occur and the response was larger than that of the s-SEP with unilateral median nerve stimulation. In the current case report, the damage to the thalamus may cause neuroplasticity in terms of the left–right interaction (e.g., left and right S1). The somatosensory input from the affected side may interfere with the habituation of the contralateral somatosensory system and conversely increase the response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Ishii
- Center for Medical Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-gun, Japan.,Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kiyoshige Ishibashi
- Department of Physical Therapy, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences Hospital, Inashiki-gun, Japan
| | - Kotaro Takeda
- Faculty of Rehabilitation, School of Healthcare, Fujita Health University, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Yuine
- Department of Occupational Therap, School of Health Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-gun, Japan
| | - Satoshi Yamamoto
- Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-gun, Japan
| | - Yuki Kaku
- Center for Medical Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-gun, Japan
| | - Arito Yozu
- Center for Medical Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-gun, Japan
| | - Yutaka Kohno
- Center for Medical Sciences, Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-gun, Japan
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