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Updated: Nov 16, 2025
Measurement & Analysis of the Temporal Discrimination Threshold Applied to Cervical Dystonia
Published on: January 27, 2018
Sensory tricks in cervical dystonia correlate with enhanced brain activity during motor preparation
Hae-Won Shin1, Hyun Joo Cho2, Sang Wook Lee3
1Human Motor Control Section, NINDS, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Neurology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Introduction:
Although sensory tricks are well known as the maneuvers that temporarily relieve dystonic symptoms in patients with cervical dystonia (CD), the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to investigate brain potentials related to sensory tricks in patients with CD.
Methods:
Thirteen patients with CD and 13 age-matched healthy volunteers participated. The experiment consisted of three conditions (moving the neck, moving an arm, and performing sensory tricks) presented in different blocks in random order in a contingent negative variation (CNV) paradigm. Warning and trigger stimuli (S1 and S2) were presented to the participants, who were instructed to prepare to perform the specific task for each condition after S1, and then to perform the task after S2. Early and late components of the CNV were measured.
Results:
The late CNVs in patients with CD were significantly larger than those in healthy participants in Fz, FCz, Cz, and C3 electrodes. Only in patients with CD, the late CNVs were significantly greater for the 'sensory tricks' condition compared to the 'move neck' condition in Fz and C3 electrodes.
Conclusion:
The late CNV is increased during sensory tricks in patients with CD, suggesting that sensory tricks may affect mechanisms related to the motor preparatory phase in the premotor and primary motor areas. Sensory tricks may normalize impaired motor preparation in dystonia, leading to improved dystonic symptoms.
