scholarly journals Effective intracortical microstimulation parameters applied to primary motor cortex for evoking forelimb movements to stable spatial end points

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 1180-1189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustaf M. Van Acker ◽  
Sommer L. Amundsen ◽  
William G. Messamore ◽  
Hongyu Y. Zhang ◽  
Carl W. Luchies ◽  
...  

High-frequency, long-duration intracortical microstimulation (HFLD-ICMS) applied to motor cortex is recognized as a useful and informative method for corticomotor mapping by evoking natural-appearing movements of the limb to consistent stable end-point positions. An important feature of these movements is that stimulation of a specific site in motor cortex evokes movement to the same spatial end point regardless of the starting position of the limb. The goal of this study was to delineate effective stimulus parameters for evoking forelimb movements to stable spatial end points from HFLD-ICMS applied to primary motor cortex (M1) in awake monkeys. We investigated stimulation of M1 as combinations of frequency (30–400 Hz), amplitude (30–200 μA), and duration (0.5–2 s) while concurrently recording electromyographic (EMG) activity from 24 forelimb muscles and movement kinematics with a motion capture system. Our results suggest a range of parameters (80–140 Hz, 80–140 μA, and 1,000-ms train duration) that are effective and safe for evoking forelimb translocation with subsequent stabilization at a spatial end point. The mean time for stimulation to elicit successful movement of the forelimb to a stable spatial end point was 475.8 ± 170.9 ms. Median successful frequency and amplitude were 110 Hz and 110 μA, respectively. Attenuated parameters resulted in inconsistent, truncated, or undetectable movements, while intensified parameters yielded no change to movement end points and increased potential for large-scale physiological spread and adverse focal motor effects. Establishing cortical stimulation parameters yielding consistent forelimb movements to stable spatial end points forms the basis for a systematic and comprehensive mapping of M1 in terms of evoked movements and associated muscle synergies. Additionally, the results increase our understanding of how the central nervous system may encode movement.

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 796-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Huang ◽  
M. A. Sirisko ◽  
H. Hiraba ◽  
G. M. Murray ◽  
B. J. Sessle

1. The technique of intracortical microstimulation (ICMS), supplemented by single-neuron recording, was used to carry out an extensive mapping of the face primary motor cortex. The ICMS study involved a total of 969 microelectrode penetrations carried out in 10 unanesthetized monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). 2. Monitoring of ICMS-evoked movements and associated electromyographic (EMG) activity revealed a general pattern of motor cortical organization. This was characterized by a representation of the facial musculature, which partially enclosed and overlapped the rostral, medial, and caudal borders of the more laterally located cortical regions representing the jaw and tongue musculatures. Responses were evoked at ICMS thresholds as low as 1 microA, and the latency of the suprathreshold EMG responses ranged from 10 to 45 ms. 3. Although contralateral movements predominated, a representation of ipsilateral movements was found, which was much more extensive than previously reported and which was intermingled with the contralateral representations in the anterior face motor cortex. 4. In examining the fine organizational pattern of the representations, we found clear evidence for multiple representation of a particular muscle, thus supporting other investigations of the motor cortex, which indicate that multiple, yet discrete, efferent microzones represent an essential organizational principle of the motor cortex. 5. The close interrelationship of the representations of all three muscle groups, as well as the presence of a considerable ipsilateral representation, may allow for the necessary integration of unilateral or bilateral activities of the numerous face, jaw, and tongue muscles, which is a feature of many of the movement patterns in which these various muscles participate. 6. In six of these same animals, plus an additional two animals, single-neuron recordings were made in the motor and adjacent sensory cortices in the anesthetized state. These neurons were electrophysiologically identified as corticobulbar projection neurons or as nonprojection neurons responsive to superficial or deep orofacial afferent inputs. The rostral, medial, lateral, and caudal borders of the face motor cortex were delineated with greater definition by ICMS and these electrophysiological procedures than by cytoarchitectonic features alone. We noted that there was an approximate fit in area 4 between the extent of projection neurons and field potentials anti-dromically evoked from the brain stem and the extent of positive ICMS sites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Chan ◽  
Mazen Asaad ◽  
Bradley Edelman ◽  
Hyun Joo Lee ◽  
Hillel Adesnik ◽  
...  

Abstract Primary motor cortex consists of a stack of interconnected but distinct layers, and plays a prominent role in motor control through large-scale networks. However, differential effects of M1 layer-specific functional pathways remain elusive, especially at the macroscopic and mesoscopic scales. Here, we combined layer-specific Cre-driver mouse lines, optogenetics, and fMRI with electrophysiological recordings to identify distinct M1 layer-specific networks. Neuronal activities initiated in L2/3 were mainly confined within M1, while stimulation of L4, L5, and L6 evoked distinct responses in M1 and motor-related subcortical regions, including the striatum and motor thalamus. Although motor cortex has long been considered agranular (without L4), our results structurally, functionally, and neurovascularly confirm the presence of L4. We also find that layer-specific fMRI responses closely couple with laminar electrophysiological recordings. Overall, our results elucidate distinct brain-wide neural archetypes of M1 layer-specific cortical circuits that provide important insights in uncovering the motor system architecture.


Author(s):  
Donald D. Samulack ◽  
Robert S. Waters ◽  
Robert W. Dykes ◽  
Patricia A. McKinley

ABSTRACT:Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) was used to map the primary motor cortex of four adult female baboons, anesthetized with a mixture of halothane and nitrous oxide and supplemented with sodium pentobarbital. The sequence of observed muscle contractions in response to ICMS provided evidence of an orderly mototopic representation of the tongue, face, hand, forearm and upper body. A zone of cortex unresponsive to microstimulation was consistently observed at the border between the face and hand representation of the mototopic map. This zone was observed in all four animals and was consistent over time. Repeated confirmations of the unresponsive nature of these regions were obtained both early and late in the same experiment. No motor-unit responses or muscle contractions were detected by electromyographic (EMG) recording during stimulation of the unresponsive zones. The absence of both visually observed and EMG-recorded contractions and the fact that muscle contractions could be elicited from adjacent regions of cortex with ICMS as low as 1-5 μA provide compelling evidence that the finding reflects a true physiological condition rather than an experimental artifact.


2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 455-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sommer L. Amundsen Huffmaster ◽  
Gustaf M. Van Acker ◽  
Carl W. Luchies ◽  
Paul D. Cheney

Simplifying neuromuscular control for movement has previously been explored by extracting muscle synergies from voluntary movement electromyography (EMG) patterns. The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle synergies represented in EMG recordings associated with direct electrical stimulation of single sites in primary motor cortex (M1). We applied single-electrode high-frequency, long-duration intracortical microstimulation (HFLD-ICMS) to the forelimb region of M1 in two rhesus macaques using parameters previously found to produce forelimb movements to stable spatial end points (90–150 Hz, 90–150 μA, 1,000-ms stimulus train lengths). To develop a comprehensive representation of cortical output, stimulation was applied systematically across the full extent of M1. We recorded EMG activity from 24 forelimb muscles together with movement kinematics. Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) was applied to the mean stimulus-evoked EMG, and the weighting coefficients associated with each synergy were mapped to the cortical location of the stimulating electrode. Synergies were found for three data sets including 1) all stimulated sites in the cortex, 2) a subset of sites that produced stable movement end points, and 3) EMG activity associated with voluntary reaching. Two or three synergies accounted for 90% of the overall variation in voluntary movement EMG whereas four or five synergies were needed for HFLD-ICMS-evoked EMG data sets. Maps of the weighting coefficients from the full HFLD-ICMS data set show limited regional areas of higher activation for particular synergies. Our results demonstrate fundamental NMF-based muscle synergies in the collective M1 output, but whether and how the central nervous system might coordinate movements using these synergies remains unclear. NEW & NOTEWORTHY While muscle synergies have been investigated in various muscle activity sets, it is unclear whether and how synergies may be organized in the cortex. We have investigated muscle synergies resulting from high-frequency, long-duration intracortical microstimulation (HFLD-ICMS) applied throughout M1. We compared HFLD-ICMS synergies to synergies from voluntary movement. While synergies can be identified from M1 stimulation, they are not clearly related to voluntary movement synergies and do not show an orderly topographic organization across M1.


2005 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 2822-2831 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Martin ◽  
Daniel Engber ◽  
Zhuo Meng

In the cat, the motor representation in motor cortex develops between wk 8 and wk 13. Motor map development is accompanied by a decrease in the current thresholds for evoking movements with a concomitant increase in the number of effective sites, an increase in the distal representation, and the representation of multijoint synergies. In this study we used intracortical microstimulation in anesthetized cats to examine how forelimb motor experiences influence development of map characteristics. To promote skilled movements during wks 8–13, animals were engaged in daily performance of a prehension task. Forelimb movements were prevented by intramuscular botulinum toxin injection or restraint. To determine whether experience-dependent changes were permanent, we examined the map in different animals between 1 wk and 1 yr after cessation of testing. Promoting forelimb use resulted in an increase in the number of sites from which multiple joint effects were produced by stimulation and the number of joints represented at those sites. The effect was maximal at 1 wk after cessation of testing, and became progressively less at 1 mo and at 4 mo. Preventing limb use resulted in a decreased number of effective sites, an increase in current thresholds for evoking responses, and a decreased representation of joints at multijoint sites. Our findings show that the motor map can respond to novel motor demands as it is forming during development but that it reverts back to one with the properties of a map in a control animal if those demands are not maintained in the animal's behavioral repertoire.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Ericka Greene ◽  
Jason Thonhoff ◽  
Blessy S. John ◽  
David B. Rosenfield ◽  
Santosh A. Helekar

Background: Repeated neuromuscular electrical stimulation in type 1 Myotonic Dystrophy (DM1) has previously been shown to cause an increase in strength and a decrease in hyperexcitability of the tibialis anterior muscle. Objective: In this proof-of-principle study our objective was to test the hypothesis that noninvasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) with a new portable wearable multifocal stimulator causes improvement in muscle function in DM1 patients. Methods: We performed repetitive stimulation of M1, localized by magnetic resonance imaging, with a newly developed Transcranial Rotating Permanent Magnet Stimulator (TRPMS). Using a randomized within-patient placebo-controlled double-blind TRPMS protocol, we performed unilateral active stimulation along with contralateral sham stimulation every weekday for two weeks in 6 adults. Methods for evaluation of muscle function involved electromyography (EMG), hand dynamometry and clinical assessment using the Medical Research Council scale. Results: All participants tolerated the treatment well. While there were no significant changes clinically, EMG showed significant improvement in nerve stimulus-evoked compound muscle action potential amplitude of the first dorsal interosseous muscle and a similar but non-significant trend in the trapezius muscle, after a short exercise test, with active but not sham stimulation. Conclusions: We conclude that two-week repeated multifocal cortical stimulation with a new wearable transcranial magnetic stimulator can be safely conducted in DM1 patients to investigate potential improvement of muscle strength and activity. The results obtained, if confirmed and extended by future safety and efficacy trials with larger patient samples, could offer a potential supportive TRPMS treatment in DM1.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.S. Ananiev ◽  
D.A. Pavlov ◽  
R.N. Yakupov ◽  
V.A. Golodnova ◽  
M.V. Balykin

The study was conducted on 22 healthy men aged 18-23 years. The primary motor cortex innervating the lower limb was stimulated with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Using transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, evoked motor responses of the muscles of the lower extremities were initiated when electrodes were applied cutaneous between the spinous processes in the Th11-Th12 projection. Research protocol: Determination of the thresholds of BMO of the muscles of the lower extremities during TESCS; determination of the BMO threshold of the TA muscle in TMS; determination of the thresholds of the BMO of the muscles of the lower extremities during TESCS against the background of 80% and 90% TMS. It was found that magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex of the brain leads to an increase in the excitability of the neural structures of the lumbar thickening of the spinal cord and an improvement in neuromuscular interactions. Key words: transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, neural networks, excitability, neuromuscular interactions.


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