scholarly journals Electrocutaneous stimulation to the face inhibits motor evoked potentials in the hand: face-hand interactions revealed by afferent inhibition

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bia L. Ramalho ◽  
Julien Moly ◽  
Estelle Raffin ◽  
Sylvain Harquel ◽  
Alessandro Farnè ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Normal State ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Motor Evoked Potential ◽  
Muscular Activity ◽  
Electrocutaneous Stimulation ◽  
Afferent Inhibition ◽  
The Face ◽  
Sensorimotor Interactions ◽  
The Right

AbstractReorganization of the sensorimotor cortex following amputation and other interventions has revealed large-scale plastic changes between the hand and face representations. To investigate whether hand-face interactions are also present in the normal state of the system we measured sensorimotor interactions between these two areas using an afferent inhibition transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocol in which the TMS motor evoked potential (MEP) is inhibited when it is preceded by an afferent stimulus. We hypothesized that if hand-face interactions exist in the normal state of the system then stimulation of the face would inhibit hand MEPs. In two separate experiments we delivered an electrocutaneous stimulus to either the right upper lip (Experiment 1) or right cheek (Experiment 2) and recorded muscular activity from the right first dorsal interosseous (FDI). Both lip and cheek stimulation inhibited FDI MEPs. To investigate the specificity of this effect we conducted two additional experiments in which cutaneous stimulation was applied to either the right forearm (Experiment 3) or right arm (Experiment 4). Neither forearm nor arm stimulation inhibited FDI MEPs. These data provide the first evidence for face-to-hand afferent inhibition and we suggest that the mechanisms underlying these sensorimotor interactions could contribute to face/hand interactions observed following sensorimotor reorganisation.

Automatic Recruitment of the Motor System by Undetected Graspable Objects: A Motor-evoked Potential Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1918-1931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas A. McNair ◽  
Ashleigh D. Behrens ◽  
Irina M. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Motor System ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Motor Evoked Potential ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Motor Pathway ◽  
The Right

Previous behavioral and neuroimaging studies have suggested that the motor properties associated with graspable objects may be automatically accessed when people passively view these objects. We directly tested this by measuring the excitability of the motor pathway when participants viewed pictures of graspable objects that were presented during the attentional blink (AB), when items frequently go undetected. Participants had to identify two briefly presented objects separated by either a short or long SOA. Motor-evoked potentials were measured from the right hand in response to a single TMS pulse delivered over the left primary motor cortex 250 msec after the onset of the second target. Behavioral results showed poorer identification of objects at short SOA compared with long SOA, consistent with an AB, which did not differ between graspable and nongraspable objects. However, motor-evoked potentials measured during the AB were significantly higher for graspable objects than for nongraspable objects, irrespective of whether the object was successfully identified or undetected. This provides direct evidence that the motor system is automatically activated during visual processing of objects that afford a motor action.

Slave-Raiders and Middlemen, Monopolists and Free-Traders: the supply of slaves for the Atlantic trade in Dahomey c. 1715–1850

1989 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Law
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
State Structure ◽  
Commercial Policy ◽  
Atlantic Trade ◽  
Oil Exports ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Right

This article, which extends and modifies the analysis offered in an earlier article in this journal (1977), examines what is known of the organization of the supply of slaves for the trans-Atlantic trade in Dahomey, with particular emphasis on the relative importance of local slave-raiding and the purchase of slaves from the interior, and on the evolution of a group of private merchants within Dahomey. It is argued that initially the kings of Dahomey sought to operate the slave trade as a royal monopoly, and relied exclusively upon slave-raiding rather than purchasing slaves from the interior. From the mid-eighteenth century, however, Dahomey did seek to operate as a ‘ middleman’ in the supply of slaves from the interior, and since its kings did not normally attempt to control this aspect of the trade this involved the emergence of a private sector in the slave trade. Although merchants in Dahomey were in origin state officials, licensed to trade on behalf of the king or ‘caboceers’ (chiefs), they subsequently acquired the right to trade on their own account also and thus became in some measure independent of the state structure. The autonomy and wealth of the merchant community in Dahomey were further enhanced by the transition from slave to palm oil exports in the nineteenth century, when leading merchants moved into large-scale oil production, using slave labour supplied by the king. There were recurrent tensions between the monarchy and the merchants over commercial policy and over the monarchy's expropriatory fiscal practices, and the conflict of interests between the two was exacerbated by the development of the oil trade, undermining the solidarity of Dahomey in the face of the European imperialism of the late nineteenth century.

scholarly journals A Study on the Effect of Mental Practice Using Motor Evoked Potential-Based Neurofeedback

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiki Matsuda ◽  
Takefumi Moriuchi ◽  
Yuta Ikio ◽  
Wataru Mitsunaga ◽  
Kengo Fujiwara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Motor Evoked Potential ◽  
Mental Practice ◽  
The Real ◽  
Group Feedback ◽  
Imagery Training ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
First Dorsal Interosseous Muscle ◽  
The Right

This study aimed to investigate whether the effect of mental practice (motor imagery training) can be enhanced by providing neurofeedback based on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced motor evoked potentials (MEP). Twenty-four healthy, right-handed subjects were enrolled in this study. The subjects were randomly allocated into two groups: a group that was given correct TMS feedback (Real-FB group) and a group that was given randomized false TMS feedback (Sham-FB group). The subjects imagined pushing the switch with just timing, when the target circle overlapped a cross at the center of the computer monitor. In the Real-FB group, feedback was provided to the subjects based on the MEP amplitude measured in the trial immediately preceding motor imagery. In contrast, the subjects of the Sham-FB group were provided with a feedback value that was independent of the MEP amplitude. TMS was applied when the target, moving from right to left, overlapped the cross at the center of the screen, and the MEP amplitude was measured. The MEP was recorded in the right first dorsal interosseous muscle. We evaluated the pre-mental practice and post-mental practice motor performance in both groups. As a result, a significant difference was observed in the percentage change of error values between the Real-FB group and the Sham-FB group. Furthermore, the MEP was significantly different between the groups in the 4th and 5th sets. Therefore, it was suggested that TMS-induced MEP-based neurofeedback might enhance the effect of mental practice.

scholarly journals Detection of acute femoral artery ischemia during neuroembolization by somatosensory and motor evoked potential monitoring

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Purger ◽  
Abdullah H Feroze ◽  
Omar Choudhri ◽  
Leslie Lee ◽  
Jaime Lopez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Motor Evoked Potential ◽  
Postoperative Outcome ◽  
Limb Ischemia ◽  
Peripheral Ischemia ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Evoked Potential Monitoring ◽  
Transcranial Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
The Right

Neuromonitoring can be used to map out particular neuroanatomical tracts, define physiologic deficits secondary to specific pathology or intervention, or predict postoperative outcome and proves essential in the detection of central and peripheral ischemic events during neurosurgical intervention. Herein, we describe an instance of elective balloon-assisted coiling of a recurrent basilar tip aneurysm in a 61-year-old woman, where intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and transcranial motor evoked potentials (TcMEPs) were lost in the right lower extremity intraoperatively. We aim to highlight that targeted use of monitoring proves advantageous in both the open surgical and endovascular setting, even in the avoidance of potential iatrogenic peripheral nerve damage and limb ischemia as documented herein. Consideration of the increased risk for peripheral ischemia in the neurointerventional setting is especially imperative in particular populations where blood vessels might be of diminished size, such as in infants, young children, and severely deconditioned adults.

scholarly journals Countermeasures and Prevention of Railway Traffic Accidents in the Early Days of the Founding of the People's Republic of China

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinghua Lu ◽  
Zhaoguo Zhang ◽  
Wei Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Transportation Industry ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Railway Transportation ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Railway Traffic ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Right

In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in order to restore the national economy as soon as possible, the Communist Party of China carried out maintenance and repairs on the railways that caused serious damage to transportation tasks through war-torn smoke, and carried out large-scale railway construction. However, in the course of operation, railway safety accidents occur frequently due to outdated equipment, low quality of staff, lack of rules and regulations, vandalism, and various natural disasters. In the face of severe conditions, the railway authorities summed up the accidents and learned the safety of the railways, so that the railway transportation industry, which started after the founding of the country, was gradually on the right track, and laid a solid foundation for the safe development of the railway industry.

Why Has There Been No People’s Power Rebellion in North Korea?

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Andrew Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
North Korea ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Information Control ◽  
Al Jazeera ◽  
The North ◽  
New Information ◽  
Effective System ◽  
The Right

One scenario put forward by researchers, political commentators and journalists for the collapse of North Korea has been a People’s Power (or popular) rebellion. This paper analyses why no popular rebellion has occurred in the DPRK under Kim Jong Un. It challenges the assumption that popular rebellion would happen because of widespread anger caused by a greater awareness of superior economic conditions outside the DPRK. Using Jack Goldstone’s theoretical expla-nations for the outbreak of popular rebellion, and comparisons with the 1989 Romanian and 2010–11 Tunisian transitions, this paper argues that marketi-zation has led to a loosening of state ideological control and to an influx of infor-mation about conditions in the outside world. However, unlike the Tunisian transitions—in which a new information context shaped by social media, the Al-Jazeera network and an experience of protest helped create a sense of pan-Arab solidarity amongst Tunisians resisting their government—there has been no similar ideology unifying North Koreans against their regime. There is evidence of discontent in market unrest in the DPRK, although protests between 2011 and the present have mostly been in defense of the right of people to support themselves through private trade. North Koreans believe this right has been guaranteed, or at least tacitly condoned, by the Kim Jong Un government. There has not been any large-scale explosion of popular anger because the state has not attempted to crush market activities outright under Kim Jong Un. There are other reasons why no popular rebellion has occurred in the North. Unlike Tunisia, the DPRK lacks a dissident political elite capable of leading an opposition movement, and unlike Romania, the DPRK authorities have shown some flexibility in their anti-dissent strategies, taking a more tolerant approach to protests against economic issues. Reduced levels of violence during periods of unrest and an effective system of information control may have helped restrict the expansion of unrest beyond rural areas.

White Backlash

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Abrajano ◽  
Zoltan L. Hajnal
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
White Americans ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
White Backlash ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Racial Divide ◽  
The Right ◽  
Political Backlash

This book provides an authoritative assessment of how immigration is reshaping American politics. Using an array of data and analysis, it shows that fears about immigration fundamentally influence white Americans' core political identities, policy preferences, and electoral choices, and that these concerns are at the heart of a large-scale defection of whites from the Democratic to the Republican Party. The book demonstrates that this political backlash has disquieting implications for the future of race relations in America. White Americans' concerns about Latinos and immigration have led to support for policies that are less generous and more punitive and that conflict with the preferences of much of the immigrant population. America's growing racial and ethnic diversity is leading to a greater racial divide in politics. As whites move to the right of the political spectrum, racial and ethnic minorities generally support the left. Racial divisions in partisanship and voting, as the book indicates, now outweigh divisions by class, age, gender, and other demographic measures. The book raises critical questions and concerns about how political beliefs and future elections will change the fate of America's immigrants and minorities, and their relationship with the rest of the nation.

Intraoperative facial motor evoked potential monitoring for pontine cavernous malformation resection

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-271
Author(s):  
Ridzky Firmansyah Hardian ◽  
Tetsuya Goto ◽  
Yu Fujii ◽  
Kohei Kanaya ◽  
Tetsuyoshi Horiuchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Facial Nerve ◽  
Cavernous Malformation ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
Motor Evoked Potential ◽  
Warning Signs ◽  
Constant Current ◽  
Karnofsky Performance Scale ◽  
Nerve Function ◽  
Facial Nerve Function ◽  
Cavernous Malformations

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to predict postoperative facial nerve function during pontine cavernous malformation surgery by monitoring facial motor evoked potentials (FMEPs).METHODSFrom 2008 to 2017, 10 patients with pontine cavernous malformations underwent total resection via the trans–fourth ventricle floor approach with FMEP monitoring. House-Brackmann grades and Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) scores were obtained pre- and postoperatively. The surgeries were performed using one of 2 safe entry zones into the brainstem: the suprafacial triangle and infrafacial triangle approaches. Six patients underwent the suprafacial triangle approach, and 4 patients underwent the infrafacial triangle approach. A cranial peg screw electrode was used to deliver electrical stimulation for FMEP by a train of 4 or 5 pulse anodal constant current stimulation. FMEP was recorded from needle electrodes on the ipsilateral facial muscles and monitored throughout surgery by using a threshold-level stimulation method.RESULTSFMEPs were recorded and analyzed in 8 patients; they were not recorded in 2 patients who had severe preoperative facial palsy and underwent an infrafacial triangle approach. Warning signs appeared in all patients who underwent the suprafacial triangle approach. However, after temporarily stopping the procedures, FMEP findings during surgery showed recovery of the thresholds. FMEPs in patients who underwent the infrafacial triangle approach were stable during the surgery. House-Brackmann grades were unchanged postoperatively in all patients. Postoperative KPS scores improved in 3 patients, decreased in 1, and remained the same in 6 patients.CONCLUSIONSFMEPs can be used to monitor facial nerve function during surgery for pontine cavernous malformations, especially when the suprafacial triangle approach is performed.

Evaluation of Ovaries in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome using Shear Wave Elastography

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 578-583
Author(s):  
Aysegul Altunkeser ◽  
Zeynep Ozturk Inal ◽  
Nahide Baran
Keyword(s):  
Shear Wave ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Polycystic Ovary ◽  
Shear Wave Elastography ◽  
Left Ovary ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tissue Elasticity ◽  
Group I ◽  
Pcos Group ◽  
The Right

Background: Shear wave electrography (SWE) is a novel non-invasive imaging technique which demonstrate tissue elasticity. Recent research evaluating the elasticity properties of normal and pathological tissues emphasize the diagnostic importance of this technique. Aims: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is characterized by menstrual irregularity, hyperandrogenism, and polycystic overgrowth, may cause infertility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the elasticity of ovaries in patients with PCOS using SWE. Methods: 66 patients diagnosed with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria (PCOS = group I) and 72 patients with non-PCOS (Control = group II), were included in the study. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the participants were recorded. Ovarian elasticity was assessed in all patients with SWE, and speed values were obtained from the ovaries. The elasticity of the ovaries was compared between the two groups. Results: While there were statistically significant differences between the groups in body mass index (BMI), right and left ovarian volumes, luteinizing hormone and testosterone levels (p<0.05), no significant differences were found between groups I and II in the velocity (for the right ovary 3.89±1.81 vs. 2.93±0.72, p=0.301; for the left ovary 2.88±0.65 vs. 2.95±0.80, p=0.577) and elastography (for the right ovary 36.62±17.78 vs. 36.79±14.32, p=0.3952; for the left ovary 36.56±14.15 vs. 36.26±15.10, p=0.903) values, respectively. Conclusion: We could not obtain different velocity and elastography values from the ovaries of the patients with PCOS using SWE. Therefore, further large-scale studies are needed to elucidate this issue.

Ban Ki-moon, 2007–2016

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gowan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cautious Approach ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
The Face

During Ban Ki-moon’s tenure, the Security Council was shaken by P5 divisions over Kosovo, Georgia, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Yet it also continued to mandate and sustain large-scale peacekeeping operations in Africa, placing major burdens on the UN Secretariat. The chapter will argue that Ban initially took a cautious approach to controversies with the Council, and earned a reputation for excessive passivity in the face of crisis and deference to the United States. The second half of the chapter suggests that Ban shifted to a more activist pressure as his tenure went on, pressing the Council to act in cases including Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, and Syria. The chapter will argue that Ban had only a marginal impact on Council decision-making, even though he made a creditable effort to speak truth to power over cases such as the Central African Republic (CAR), challenging Council members to live up to their responsibilities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document