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Enhanced mirror activity in 'crossed' reaction time tasks in multiple sclerosis
Christopher Cabib1, Sara Llufriu2, Eloy Martinez-Heras2
1EMG Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain.
Summary
Multiple sclerosis patients exhibit impaired motor control, showing increased unintended muscle activity during complex tasks. This suggests damage to brain connections, impacting inhibitory functions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Voluntary motor tasks require inhibitory control over opposing muscle activity.
- Interhemispheric connections are crucial for this inhibition and are often compromised in multiple sclerosis (MS).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate inhibitory control deficits in MS patients during unimanual motor tasks.
- To correlate motor inhibition with microstructural brain damage in MS.
Main Methods:
- Compared ipsilateral and contralateral wrist-extension reactions in 20 MS patients and 13 healthy controls.
- Measured mirror electromyographic activity (mEMG) and used diffusion tensor imaging to assess corpus callosum and brainstem integrity.
Main Results:
- MS patients displayed significantly more, larger, and persistent mirror EMG activity with shorter latency during contralateral tasks compared to controls.
- Increased mEMG in MS patients correlated with greater corpus callosum damage and reduced brainstem volume.
Conclusions:
- Multiple sclerosis patients demonstrate impaired inhibition of unintended motor output in tasks requiring interhemispheric communication.
- Axonal damage and atrophy in the corpus callosum and brainstem likely underlie these motor control deficits in MS.
