Cortical Effects of Peripheral Proprioceptive Stimulation on the Motor Evoked Potentials of the Limbs

Facultat de ciencies de la Salut Universitat Ramon Llull

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Healthy Subjects

Treatments: Device: proprioceptive stimulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06936579

2025-04-07

Details and patient eligibility

About

Through motor muscle potentials, we will observe how a peripheral somatosensory mechanical stimulus on key limb musculature communicates signals via afferent sensory fibers that encode proprioceptive signals from muscle spindles (particularly type Ia fibers) to the somatosensory cortex at rest, confirming the integrative hypothesis of movement.

These results would support interventions aimed at addressing sensory deafferentation present in multiple health conditions related to movement disorders, where disuse or immobilization lead to changes in movement patterns and a decrease in neuronal activation in somatosensory cortex areas involved in constructing voluntary movement.

Full description

Objective: To evaluate whether a proprioceptive stimulus applied to the limb of healthy subjects activates the corticospinal pathway, compared to a condition without stimulation, through the analysis of motor evoked potentials (MEPs).

Methods: Experimental and crossover. Each participant will serve as their own control and will be assessed under both stimulation (experimental) and no-stimulation (control) conditions.The stimulus will consist of intermittent mechanical pressure on the skin located at the neuromuscular motor points (NMPs) of the upper limb (biceps muscle (B) and wrist extensors (WE)) and the lower limb (rectus femoris of the quadriceps (RFQ) and tibialis anterior (TA).Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) will be recorded from the B, WE, RFQ, and TA muscles using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).The optimal stimulation point (hotspot-the area where TMS generates the highest MEP) will be identified individually for the B, WE, RFQ, and TA muscles.Participants will be recruited at the facilities of the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing of Castilla-La Mancha University (UCLM), in collaboration with the Toledo Physiotherapy Research Group (GIFTO) and the Faculty of Health Sciences, Blanquerna - Ramon Llull University.

Enrollment: 31 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Good health status with no history of neuromuscular injuries, surgical interventions, or trauma affecting the central or peripheral nervous system.

Not currently taking drugs or medications known to affect the central nervous system, and not pregnant at the time of testing.

No metallic or electronic implants and no history of epilepsy.

(Safety, ethical considerations, and application guidelines for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical practice and research)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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31 participants in 3 patient groups

Condition without proprioceptive stimulation:

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants will not receive the stimulus, and MEP activity will be recorded under the same motor cortex stimulation conditions.

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 1

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation through the output plunger, applied continuously for 15 seconds, with 20-second rest intervals, over a total duration of 5 minutes. MEP activity will then be recorded via motor cortex stimulation.

Treatment:

Device: proprioceptive stimulation

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 2

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation continuously during the application of TMS pulses while MEP activity is recorded.

Treatment:

Device: proprioceptive stimulation