Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1980 May;43(5):433–437. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.43.5.433

The effect of hand muscle vibration on the somatosensory evoked potential in man: an interaction between lemniscal and spinocerebellar inputs?

G Abbruzzese, M Abbruzzese, E Favale, M Ivaldi, M Leandri, S Ratto
PMCID: PMC490571  PMID: 7420095

Abstract

The effect of hand muscle mechanical vibration on the somatosensory potential (SEP) evoked by median nerve stimulation, was investigated in 10 healthy subjects. A marked decrease in the amplitude of the N17, N20 and P25 components of the cerebral SEP was observed, while the S11 and S13 components of the cervical response did not change. The amplitude reduction of the SEP components was larger when low frequency vibration was used. Recordings performed after cooling the hand further suggest that the reduction of the amplitude of the SEP components induced by vibration is likely to depend on activation of muscle receptors. These findings could reflect an interaction between limniscal and spino-cerebellar inputs, possibly occurring at the thalamo-cortical levels, a concept compatible with the hypothesis that muscle spindle afferents do contribute to kinaesthesia or position-sense.

Full text

PDF
437

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abbruzzese M., Favale E., Leandri M., Ratto S. New subcortical components of the cerebral somatosensory evoked potential in man. Acta Neurol Scand. 1978 Dec;58(6):325–332. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1978.tb02896.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Abbruzzese M., Favale E., Leandri M., Ratto S. Ricerche sulle componenti encefaliche del potenziale spinale evocato da stimolazione del nervo mediano nell'uomo. Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper. 1978 Oct 30;54(20):1925–1930. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Abbruzzese M., Favale E., Leandri M., Ratto S. Spinal components of the cerebral somatosensory evoked response in normal man: the "S wave". Acta Neurol Scand. 1978 Oct;58(4):213–220. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1978.tb02881.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. BIANCONI R., van der MEULEN J. The response to vibration of the end organs of mammalian muscle spindles. J Neurophysiol. 1963 Jan;26:177–190. doi: 10.1152/jn.1963.26.1.177. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Burke D., Hagbarth K. E., Löfstedt L., Wallin B. G. The responses of human muscle spindle endings to vibration of non-contracting muscles. J Physiol. 1976 Oct;261(3):673–693. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011580. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. ELDRED E., LINDSLEY D. F., BUCHWALD J. S. The effect of cooling on mammalian muscle spindles. Exp Neurol. 1960 Apr;2:144–157. doi: 10.1016/0014-4886(60)90004-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Goodwin G. M., McCloskey D. I., Matthews P. B. The contribution of muscle afferents to kinaesthesia shown by vibration induced illusions of movement and by the effects of paralysing joint afferents. Brain. 1972;95(4):705–748. doi: 10.1093/brain/95.4.705. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HALLIDAY A. M., WAKEFIELD G. S. Cerebral evoked potentials in patients with dissociated sensory loss. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1963 Jun;26:211–219. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.26.3.211. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Matthews P. B. Muscle afferents and kinaesthesia. Br Med Bull. 1977 May;33(2):137–142. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a071413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. McCloskey D. I. Differences between the senses of movement and position shown by the effects of loading and vibration of muscles in man. Brain Res. 1973 Oct 26;61:119–131. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(73)90521-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. McCloskey D. I. Kinesthetic sensibility. Physiol Rev. 1978 Oct;58(4):763–820. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1978.58.4.763. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Phillips C. G., Powell T. P., Wiesendanger M. Projection from low-threshold muscle afferents of hand and forearm to area 3a of baboon's cortex. J Physiol. 1971 Sep;217(2):419–446. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1971.sp009579. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Rosén I. Excitation of group I activated thalamocortical relay neurones in the cat. J Physiol. 1969 Nov;205(1):237–255. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1969.sp008962. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Shimoji K., Shimizu H., Maruyama Y. Origin of somatosensory evoked responses recorded from the cervical skin surface. J Neurosurg. 1978 Jun;48(6):980–984. doi: 10.3171/jns.1978.48.6.0980. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Talbot W. H., Darian-Smith I., Kornhuber H. H., Mountcastle V. B. The sense of flutter-vibration: comparison of the human capacity with response patterns of mechanoreceptive afferents from the monkey hand. J Neurophysiol. 1968 Mar;31(2):301–334. doi: 10.1152/jn.1968.31.2.301. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES