Table 1.
Descriptive data for the four experimental conditions
| Condition | Torquea, Nm | Torqueb, Nm | CSE Left FCR, mV | CSE Left ECR, mV | SICIc Left FCR, % of control | SICIc Left ECR, % of control | EMG Left FCR, mV | EMG Left ECR, mV | EMG Right FCR, mV | EMG Right ECR, mV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-mirror, rest | N/A | N/A | 0.20 (0.15) | 0.40 (0.44) | 39.1 (23.3) | 57.0 (25.5) | 0.0010 (0.0003) | 0.0035 (0.0034) | 0.0017 (0.0023) | 0.0015 (0.0012) |
| Mirror, rest | N/A | N/A | 0.21 (0.14) | 0.37 (0.33) | 38.4 (24.4) | 56.2 (21.8) | 0.0011 (0.0004) | 0.0031 (0.00265) | 0.0019 (0.0030) | 0.0027 (0.0019)‡ |
| No-mirror, contraction | 7.8 (2.3) | 7.8 (2.3) | 0.43 (0.29)* | 0.58 (0.44)* | 37.8 (16.2) | 58.8 (22.0) | 0.0021 (0.0021)* | 0.0054 (0.0040)* | 0.1159 (0.0494)* | 0.0270 (0.0137)* |
| Mirror, contraction | 7.9 (2.4) | 7.8 (2.3) | 0.41 (0.26)* | 0.55 (0.32)* | 46.9 (18.9)† | 58.9 (17.4) | 0.0021 (0.0018)* | 0.0042 (0.0025)* | 0.1227 (0.0601)* | 0.0245 (0.0128)* |
Values are means (SD).
CSE, corticospinal excitability; ECR, extensor carpi radialis; EMG, electromyogram; FCR, flexor carpi radialis; N/A, not applicable; SICI, short-interval intracortical inhibition.
a
Torque recorded at the moment of stimulation for measuring corticospinal excitability;
b
torque recorded at the moment of stimulation for measuring SICI;
c
higher value means less inhibition.
*
Compared with the resting conditions (P < 0.001);
†
compared with all other conditions (P < 0.05);
‡
compared with the no-mirror resting condition (P < 0.05).