1
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Heckman RL, Ludvig D, Perreault EJ. A motor plan is accessible for voluntary initiation and involuntary triggering at similar short latencies. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:2395-2407. [PMID: 37634132 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06666-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Movement goals are an essential component of motor planning, altering voluntary and involuntary motor actions. While there have been many studies of motor planning, it is unclear if motor goals influence voluntary and involuntary movements at similar latencies. The objectives of this study were to determine how long it takes to prepare a motor action and to compare this time for voluntary and involuntary movements. We hypothesized a prepared motor action would influence voluntarily and involuntarily initiated movements at the same latency. We trained subjects to reach with a forced reaction time paradigm and used a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS) to trigger involuntary initiation of the same reaches. The time available to prepare was controlled by varying when one of four reach targets was presented. Reach direction was used to evaluate accuracy. We quantified the time between target presentation and the cue or trigger for movement initiation. We found that reaches were accurately initiated when the target was presented 48 ms before the SAS and 162 ms before the cue to voluntarily initiate movement. While the SAS precisely controlled the latency of movement onset, voluntary reach onset was more variable. We, therefore, quantified the time between target presentation and movement onset and found no significant difference in the time required to plan reaches initiated voluntarily or involuntarily (∆ = 8 ms, p = 0.2). These results demonstrate that the time required to plan accurate reaches is similar regardless of if they are initiated voluntarily or triggered involuntarily. This finding may inform the understanding of neural pathways governing storage and access of motor plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalind L Heckman
- Department of Physical Therapy, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
- Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
| | - Daniel Ludvig
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Eric J Perreault
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
- Shirley Ryan Ability Lab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
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2
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Sadler CM, Peters KJ, Santangelo CM, Maslovat D, Carlsen AN. Retrospective composite analysis of StartReact data indicates sex differences in simple reaction time are not attributable to response preparation. Behav Brain Res 2022; 426:113839. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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3
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Wispinski NJ, Gallivan JP, Chapman CS. Models, movements, and minds: bridging the gap between decision making and action. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1464:30-51. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2018] [Revised: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jason P. Gallivan
- Centre for Neuroscience StudiesQueen's University Kingston Ontario Canada
- Department of PsychologyQueen's University Kingston Ontario Canada
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular SciencesQueen's University Kingston Ontario Canada
| | - Craig S. Chapman
- Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and RecreationUniversity of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada
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4
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Perera T, Tan JL, Cole MH, Yohanandan SAC, Silberstein P, Cook R, Peppard R, Aziz T, Coyne T, Brown P, Silburn PA, Thevathasan W. Balance control systems in Parkinson's disease and the impact of pedunculopontine area stimulation. Brain 2019; 141:3009-3022. [PMID: 30165427 PMCID: PMC6158752 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awy216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Impaired balance is a major contributor to falls and diminished quality of life in Parkinson’s disease, yet the pathophysiology is poorly understood. Here, we assessed if patients with Parkinson’s disease and severe clinical balance impairment have deficits in the intermittent and continuous control systems proposed to maintain upright stance, and furthermore, whether such deficits are potentially reversible, with the experimental therapy of pedunculopontine nucleus deep brain stimulation. Two subject groups were assessed: (i) 13 patients with Parkinson’s disease and severe clinical balance impairment, implanted with pedunculopontine nucleus deep brain stimulators; and (ii) 13 healthy control subjects. Patients were assessed in the OFF medication state and blinded to two conditions; off and on pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation. Postural sway data (deviations in centre of pressure) were collected during quiet stance using posturography. Intermittent control of sway was assessed by calculating the frequency of intermittent switching behaviour (discontinuities), derived using a wavelet-based transformation of the sway time series. Continuous control of sway was assessed with a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller model using ballistic reaction time as a measure of feedback delay. Clinical balance impairment was assessed using the ‘pull test’ to rate postural reflexes and by rating attempts to arise from sitting to standing. Patients with Parkinson’s disease demonstrated reduced intermittent switching of postural sway compared with healthy controls. Patients also had abnormal feedback gains in postural sway according to the PID model. Pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation improved intermittent switching of postural sway, feedback gains in the PID model and clinical balance impairment. Clinical balance impairment correlated with intermittent switching of postural sway (rho = − 0.705, P < 0.001) and feedback gains in the PID model (rho = 0.619, P = 0.011). These results suggest that dysfunctional intermittent and continuous control systems may contribute to the pathophysiology of clinical balance impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Clinical balance impairment and their related control system deficits are potentially reversible, as demonstrated by their improvement with pedunculopontine nucleus deep brain stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thushara Perera
- The Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Medical Bionics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Joy L Tan
- The Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Medical Bionics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael H Cole
- School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Paul Silberstein
- Royal North Shore and North Shore Private Hospitals, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Raymond Cook
- Royal North Shore and North Shore Private Hospitals, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard Peppard
- The Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Clinical Neurosciences, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Tipu Aziz
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TH, UK
| | - Terry Coyne
- Asia-Pacific Centre for Neuromodulation, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Peter Brown
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TH, UK.,Medical Research Council Brain Network Dynamics Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TH, UK
| | - Peter A Silburn
- Asia-Pacific Centre for Neuromodulation, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Wesley Thevathasan
- The Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Departments of Neurology, The Royal Melbourne and Austin Hospitals, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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5
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Thevathasan W, Moro E. What is the therapeutic mechanism of pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation in Parkinson's disease? Neurobiol Dis 2018; 128:67-74. [PMID: 29933055 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2018.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Revised: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an experimental treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD) which offers a fairly circumscribed benefit for gait freezing and perhaps balance impairment. The benefit on gait freezing is variable and typically incomplete, which may reflect that the clinical application is yet to be optimised or reflect a fundamental limitation of the therapeutic mechanism. Thus, a better understanding of the therapeutic mechanism of PPN DBS may guide the further development of this therapy. The available evidence supports that the PPN is underactive in PD due to a combination of both degeneration and excessive inhibition. Low frequency PPN DBS could enhance PPN network activity, perhaps via disinhibition. A clinical implication is that in some PD patients, the PPN may be too degenerate for PPN DBS to work. Reaction time studies report that PPN DBS mediates a very specific benefit on pre-programmed movement. This seems relevant to the pathophysiology of gait freezing, which can be argued to reflect impaired release of pre-programmed adjustments to locomotion. Thus, the benefit of PPN DBS on gait freezing could be akin to that mediated by external cues. Alpha band activity is a prominent finding in local field potential recordings from PPN electrodes in PD patients. Alpha band activity is implicated in the suppression of task irrelevant processes and thus the effective allocation of attention (processing resources). Attentional deficits are prominent in patients with PD and gait freezing and PPN alpha activity has been observed to drop out prior to gait freezing episodes and to increase with levodopa. This raises the hypothesis that PPN DBS could support or emulate PPN alpha activity and consequently enhance the allocation of attention. Although PPN DBS has not been convincingly shown to increase general alertness or attention, it remains possible that PPN DBS may enhance the allocation of processing resources within the motor system, or "motor attention". For example, this could facilitate the 'switching' of motor state between continuation of pattern generated locomotion towards the intervention of pre-programmed adjustments. However, if the downstream consequence of PPN DBS on movement is limited to a circumscribed unblocking of pre-programmed movement, then this may have a similarly circumscribed degree of benefit for gait. If this is the case, then it may be possible to identify patients who may benefit most from PPN DBS. For example, those in whom pre-programmed deficits are the major contributors to gait freezing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Thevathasan
- Departments of Neurology, Royal Melbourne Hospital and Austin Hospitals, University of Melbourne, Australia and the Bionics Institute of Australia, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Elena Moro
- Movement Disorders Center, Division of Neurology, CHU Grenoble, Grenoble Alpes University, INSERM U1214, Grenoble, France.
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6
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Weiler J, Gribble PL, Pruszynski JA. Rapid feedback responses are flexibly coordinated across arm muscles to support goal-directed reaching. J Neurophysiol 2017; 119:537-547. [PMID: 29118199 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00664.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A transcortical pathway helps support goal-directed reaching by processing somatosensory information to produce rapid feedback responses across multiple joints and muscles. Here, we tested whether such feedback responses can account for changes in arm configuration and for arbitrary visuomotor transformations-two manipulations that alter how muscles at the elbow and wrist need to be coordinated to achieve task success. Participants used a planar three degree-of-freedom exoskeleton robot to move a cursor to a target following a mechanical perturbation that flexed the elbow. In our first experiment, the cursor was mapped to the veridical position of the robot handle, but participants grasped the handle with two different hand orientations (thumb pointing upward or thumb pointing downward). We found that large rapid feedback responses were evoked in wrist extensor muscles when wrist extension helped move the cursor to the target (i.e., thumb upward), and in wrist flexor muscles when wrist flexion helped move the cursor to the target (i.e., thumb downward). In our second experiment, participants grasped the robot handle with their thumb pointing upward, but the cursor's movement was either veridical or was mirrored such that flexing the wrist moved the cursor as if the participant extended their wrist, and vice versa. After extensive practice, we found that rapid feedback responses were appropriately tuned to the wrist muscles that supported moving the cursor to the target when the cursor was mapped to the mirrored movement of the wrist, but were not tuned to the appropriate wrist muscles when the cursor was remapped to the wrist's veridical movement. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that rapid feedback responses were evoked in different wrist muscles depending on the arm's orientation, and this muscle activity was appropriate to generate the wrist motion that supported a reaching action. Notably, we also show that these rapid feedback responses can be evoked in wrist muscles that are detrimental to a reaching action if a nonveridical mapping between wrist and hand motion is extensively learned.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Weiler
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Psychology, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada
| | - Paul L Gribble
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Psychology, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada
| | - J Andrew Pruszynski
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Psychology, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada.,Robarts Research Institute, Western University , London, Ontario , Canada
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7
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Maslovat D, Carter MJ, Carlsen AN. Response preparation and execution during intentional bimanual pattern switching. J Neurophysiol 2017; 118:1720-1731. [PMID: 28659461 PMCID: PMC5596139 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00323.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
During continuous bimanual coordination, in-phase (IP; 0° relative phase) and anti-phase (AP; 180° relative phase) patterns can be stably performed without practice. Paradigms in which participants are required to intentionally switch between these coordination patterns have been used to investigate the interaction between the performer's intentions and intrinsic dynamics of the body's preferred patterns. The current study examined the processes associated with switching preparation and execution through the use of a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS) as the switch stimulus. A SAS is known to involuntarily trigger preprogrammed responses at a shortened latency and, thus, can be used to probe advance preparation. Participants performed cyclical IP and AP bimanual elbow extension-flexion movements in which they were required to switch patterns in response to an auditory switch cue, which was either nonstartling (80 dB) or a SAS (120 dB). Results indicated that reaction time to the switch stimulus (i.e., switch onset) was significantly reduced on startle trials, indicative of advance preparation of the switch response. Similarly, switching time was reduced on startle trials, which was attributed to increased neural activation caused by the SAS. Switching time was also shorter for AP to IP trials, but only when the switching stimulus occurred at either the midpoint or reversal locations within the movement cycle, suggesting that the switch location may affect the intrinsic dynamics of the system.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The current study provides novel information regarding preparation and execution of intentional switching between in-phase and anti-phase bimanual coordination patterns. Using a startling acoustic stimulus, we provide strong evidence that the switching response is prepared before the switch stimulus, and switch execution is accelerated by the startling stimulus. In addition, the time required to switch between patterns and relative limb contribution is dependent upon where in the movement cycle the switch stimulus occurred.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Maslovat
- School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Michael J Carter
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; and
| | - Anthony N Carlsen
- School of Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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8
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Blinch J, Franks IM, Carpenter MG, Chua R. Unified nature of bimanual movements revealed by separating the preparation of each arm. Exp Brain Res 2015; 233:1931-44. [PMID: 25850406 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4266-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Movement preparation of bimanual asymmetric movements is longer than bimanual symmetric movements in choice reaction time conditions, even when movements are cued directly by illuminating the targets (Blinch et al. in Exp Brain Res 232(3):947-955, 2014). This bimanual asymmetric cost may be caused by increased processing demands on response programming, but this requires further investigation. The present experiment tested the demands on response programming for bimanual movements by temporally separating the preparation of each arm. This was achieved by precuing the target of one arm before the imperative stimulus. We asked: What was prepared in advance when one arm was precued? The answer to this question would suggest which process causes the bimanual asymmetric cost. Advance movement preparation was examined by comparing reaction times with and without a precue for the left target and by occasionally replacing the imperative stimulus with a loud, startling tone (120 dB). A startle tone releases whatever movement is prepared in advance with a much shorter reaction time than control trials (Carlsen et al. in Clin Neurophysiol 123(1):21-33, 2012). Participants made bimanual symmetric and asymmetric reaching movements in simple and 2-choice reaction time conditions and a condition with a precue for the left target. We found a bimanual asymmetric cost in 2-choice conditions, and the asymmetric cost was significantly smaller when the left target was precued. These results, and the results from startle trials, suggest (1) that the precued movement was not fully programmed but partially programmed before the imperative stimulus and (2) that the asymmetric cost was caused by increased processing demands on response programming. Overall, the results support the notion that bimanual movements are not the sum of two unimanual movements; instead, the two arms of a bimanual movement are unified into a functional unit. When one target is precued, this critical unification likely occurs during response programming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jarrod Blinch
- School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, 210-6081 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada
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9
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Blumenthal TD, Reynolds JZ, Spence TE. Support for the interruption and protection hypotheses of prepulse inhibition of startle: evidence from a modified Attention Network Test. Psychophysiology 2014; 52:397-406. [PMID: 25234706 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2014] [Accepted: 08/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The startle response may interrupt information processing (interruption hypothesis), and prepulse inhibition of startle (PPI) may protect that processing from interruption (protection hypothesis). These hypotheses were tested by measuring startle eyeblinks during an Attention Network Test (ANT), a combined flanker and cue reaction time (RT) task that measures the efficiency of multiple attentional networks. ANT trials with and without startle stimuli presented in the interval between the visual cue (prepulse) and target were compared. Results showed that the startle stimulus served as an alerting stimulus, speeding RT in the ANT. However, this reaction time speeding was most pronounced on trials with no startle response (100% PPI). This suggests that the alerting effect of the startle stimulus was attenuated by the startle response, and that PPI decreased the degree of this interference, in support of the interruption and protection hypotheses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terry D Blumenthal
- Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
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10
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Motor plans persist to influence subsequent actions with four or more response alternatives. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2014; 149:9-17. [PMID: 24657597 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2014.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2013] [Revised: 02/25/2014] [Accepted: 02/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Motor activity has the potential to persist after action and influence subsequent behaviour. A standard approach to isolating a motoric influence is to map two stimuli onto each response, so that response and stimulus repetition can be dissociated. A response-only response-repetition (RoRR) effect can then be assessed, arising if the same response made to two unrelated stimuli is nonetheless produced more rapidly. This kind of motoric behavioural influence of one response on the next has proved elusive in reaction time tasks involving choices between key presses, at least when stimuli mapped to each response are difficult to categorise together. However, such tasks have traditionally involved only a few response alternatives. We hypothesised that a larger load on the motor system might prevent participants from holding all possible action plans active throughout an experiment, and thus reveal trial-to-trial motor priming in the form of an RoRR effect. In our first experiment, increasing the number of response alternatives to four or eight yielded a reliable RoRR effect. This effect was replicated in Experiment 2, where it also proved persistent across practice and resistant to changes in response configuration. Our results are consistent with evidence of motoric perseveration in other kinds of motor task, such as reaching and grasping, and have implications for the generation of speeded decisions in a range of activities.
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11
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Drummond NM, Carlsen AN, Cressman EK. Motor preparation is delayed for both directly and indirectly cued movements during an anticipation-timing task. Brain Res 2013; 1506:44-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2013.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2012] [Revised: 02/06/2013] [Accepted: 02/15/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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12
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Carlsen AN, Almeida QJ, Franks IM. Startle decreases reaction time to active inhibition. Exp Brain Res 2011; 217:7-14. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2964-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2011] [Accepted: 11/21/2011] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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13
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Carlsen AN, Maslovat D, Franks IM. Preparation for voluntary movement in healthy and clinical populations: evidence from startle. Clin Neurophysiol 2011; 123:21-33. [PMID: 22033029 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2011.04.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2011] [Revised: 04/11/2011] [Accepted: 04/23/2011] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
In this review we provide a summary of the observations made regarding advance preparation of the motor system when presenting a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS) during various movement tasks. The predominant finding from these studies is that if the participant is prepared to make a particular movement a SAS can act to directly and quickly trigger the prepared action. A similar effect has recently been shown in patients with Parkinson's disease. This "StartReact" effect has been shown to be a robust indicator of advance motor programming as it can involuntarily release whatever movement has been prepared. We review the historical origins of the StartReact effect and the experimental results detailing circumstances where advance preparation occurs, when it occurs, and how these processes change with practice for both healthy and clinical populations. Data from some of these startle experiments has called into question some of the previously held hypotheses and assumptions with respect to the nature of response preparation and initiation, and how the SAS results in early response expression. As such, a secondary focus is to review previous hypotheses and introduce an updated model of how the SAS may interact with response preparation and initiation channels from a neurophysiological perspective.
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14
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Forgaard CJ, Maslovat D, Carlsen AN, Franks IM. Default motor preparation under conditions of response uncertainty. Exp Brain Res 2011; 215:235-45. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-011-2893-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2011] [Accepted: 09/26/2011] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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15
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Pruszynski JA, Kurtzer I, Scott SH. The long-latency reflex is composed of at least two functionally independent processes. J Neurophysiol 2011; 106:449-59. [PMID: 21543751 DOI: 10.1152/jn.01052.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The nervous system counters mechanical perturbations applied to the arm with a stereotypical sequence of muscle activity, starting with the short-latency stretch reflex and ending with a voluntary response. Occurring between these two events is the enigmatic long-latency reflex. Although researchers have been fascinated by the long-latency reflex for over 60 years, some of the most basic questions about this response remain unresolved and often debated. In the present study we help resolve one such question by providing clear evidence that the human long-latency reflex during a naturalistic motor task is not a single functional response; rather, it appears to reflect the output of (at least) two functionally independent processes that overlap in time and sum linearly. One of these functional components shares an important attribute of the short-latency reflex (i.e., automatic gain scaling, sensitivity to background load), and the other shares a defining feature of voluntary control (i.e., task dependency, sensitivity to goal target position). We further show that the task-dependent component of long-latency activity reflects a feedback control process rather than the simplest triggered reaction to a mechanical stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Stephen H. Scott
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies,
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and
- Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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16
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Transcranial magnetic stimulation of posterior parietal cortex affects decisions of hand choice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:17751-6. [PMID: 20876098 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1006223107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Deciding which hand to use for an action is one of the most frequent decisions people make in everyday behavior. Using a speeded reaching task, we provide evidence that hand choice entails a competitive decision process between simultaneously activated action plans for each hand. We then show that single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left posterior parietal cortex biases this competitive process, leading to an increase in ipsilateral, left hand reaches. Stimulation of the right posterior parietal cortex did not alter hand choice, suggesting a hemispheric asymmetry in the representations of reach plans. These results are unique in providing causal evidence that the posterior parietal cortex is involved in decisions of hand choice.
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17
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Carlsen AN, Maslovat D, Lam MY, Chua R, Franks IM. Considerations for the use of a startling acoustic stimulus in studies of motor preparation in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2010; 35:366-76. [PMID: 20466020 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2009] [Revised: 04/27/2010] [Accepted: 04/29/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have used a loud (> 120 dB) startle-eliciting acoustic stimulus as a probe to investigate early motor response preparation in humans. The use of a startle in these studies has provided insight into not only the neurophysiological substrates underlying motor preparation, but also into the behavioural response strategies associated with particular stimulus-response sets. However, as the use of startle as a probe for preparation is a relatively new technique, a standard protocol within the context of movement paradigms does not yet exist. Here we review the recent literature using startle as a probe during the preparation phase of movement tasks, with an emphasis on how the experimental parameters affect the results obtained. Additionally, an overview of the literature surrounding the startle stimulus parameters is provided, and factors affecting the startle response are considered. In particular, we provide a review of the factors that should be taken into consideration when using a startling stimulus in human research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony N Carlsen
- School of Human Kinetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
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18
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Fast muscle responses to an unexpected foot-in-hole scenario, evoked in the context of prior knowledge of the potential perturbation. Exp Brain Res 2010; 203:437-46. [PMID: 20414644 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-010-2248-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2009] [Accepted: 04/08/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of prior knowledge of the potential loss of support during walking on muscle responses to the potential perturbation. Four conditions were tested; non-instructed control (NC), non-instructed perturbed (NP), instructed control (IC) and instructed perturbed (IP). Participants were perturbed by having them step into a hidden hole (8.5 cm) in a walkway during the NP and IP trials. Participants had no prior knowledge of the potential perturbation under the NC and NP conditions, but under the instructed conditions, participants were informed that there might be a hole in the walkway. A cautious landing strategy was observed in the IC trials. The participants exhibited flat-footed landings (plantar angle: NC: 13.7 +/- 2.8 degrees; IC: 8.5 +/- 5.2 degrees) and a prolonged double support phase (NC: 138 +/- 18 ms; IC: 161 +/- 17 ms) when they had prior knowledge of the possible hole. When the participants encountered a hole, we saw triggering of fast muscle responses in the ipsilateral plantarflexors and knee extensor, as well as in the contralateral dorsiflexors and knee flexors. This pattern was interpreted as a stop walking synergy. The opposite muscle activation pattern, which was thought of as a resume walking synergy, was induced when no hole was presented and actual foot contact occurred at the expected instant. The latencies between the onsets of muscle responses and the expected heel contact were shorter under the IP condition than under the NP condition (ipsilateral soleus: NP: 78 +/- 13 ms, IP: 64 +/- 14 ms; contralateral biceps femoris: NP: 94 +/- 25 ms; IP: 76 +/- 17 ms). Our results demonstrate that reactive muscle responses to perturbations depend on the anticipatory state with respect to potential perturbations.
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