Exploratory EEG-TMS Study Reveals Altered Behavioral Function in Individuals Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Orthopedics
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) patients often exhibit quadriceps dysfunction.
• The underlying neuroadaptations in the motor cortex contributing to persistent strength deficits are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural behavior during a force reproduction task in ACLR patients versus healthy controls using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
• To assess corticospinal tract neuroadaptation and motor cortex excitability following ACLR.

Main Methods:

• Compared electrocortical activity via EEG and TMS-induced motor-evoked torque (MET) in 16 ACLR patients and 16 controls during an isometric quadriceps force reproduction task.
• Delivered TMS pulses to the primary motor cortex to measure MET and TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs) at motor, parietal, and frontal regions.

Main Results:

• ACLR patients demonstrated significantly greater MET compared to controls, indicating heightened corticospinal excitability.
• Exploratory analysis revealed lower P200 TEP amplitude in the motor cortex (ROI1) for the ACLR group.

Conclusions:

• Reduced TEP amplitude suggests neural inhibition in the motor cortex of ACLR patients.
• Increased MET points to greater corticospinal excitability, potentially leading to excessive quadriceps activation and increased re-injury risk.