Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Reducing human biceps brachii spinal stretch reflex magnitude

S L Wolf1, R L Segal

  • 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.

Journal of Neurophysiology
|April 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Training effectively reduced biceps brachii spinal stretch reflexes (SSR) in human subjects. This intervention also impacted the brachioradialis muscle, suggesting supraspinal involvement in reflex modification.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Constraint Induced Movement Techniques To Facilitate Upper Extremity Use in Stroke Patients.

Topics in stroke rehabilitation·2016
Same author

Plasticity in the Central Nervous System: Operant Conditioning of the Spinal Stretch Reflex.

Topics in stroke rehabilitation·2016
Same author

Foreword.

Topics in stroke rehabilitation·2016
Same author

Home-based Reach-to-Grasp training for people after stroke is feasible: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Clinical rehabilitation·2016
Same author

Electromyographic Biofeedback in Exercise Programs.

The Physician and sportsmedicine·2016
Same author

Best practice for arm recovery post stroke: an international application.

Physiotherapy·2015

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Motor Control
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Spinal stretch reflexes (SSR) are fundamental to motor control.
  • Investigating the plasticity of human SSR is crucial for understanding motor adaptation.
  • Previous research explored reflex modification, but specific training effects on biceps SSR require further elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if targeted training can reduce biceps brachii spinal stretch reflexes (SSR) in humans.
  • To examine concurrent changes in the synergist brachioradialis muscle responses.
  • To assess the role of antagonist muscle activity and longer-latency responses during reflex modification.

Main Methods:

  • Nine subjects underwent 24 training sessions with elbow joint stretch perturbations to reduce biceps SSR.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Control group (12 subjects) received equivalent stretches without a training paradigm.
  • Electromyogram activity of biceps brachii, brachioradialis, and triceps brachii was recorded and analyzed.

    • Main Results:

    • Training subjects demonstrated a 24% reduction in biceps SSR, while controls showed a 12% increase.
    • Brachioradialis responses decreased by 18% in the training group and increased by 12% in controls.
    • Longer-latency biceps responses showed greater reductions in the training group (37%) compared to controls (7%).

    Conclusions:

    • Human biceps brachii SSR can be significantly reduced through targeted training.
    • Concurrent modifications in synergist muscle activity (brachioradialis) are observed.
    • Reduced SSR magnitude is not linked to compensatory antagonist muscle activity, suggesting supraspinal processing involvement.