Article
Neurosciences
Constantine P. Nicolozakes, M. Hongchul Sohn, Emma M. Baillargeon, David B. Lipps, Eric J. Perreault
Summary: The unique anatomy of the shoulder allows for both mobility and stability. This study investigates the coordination of stretch reflexes in shoulder muscles and finds that these reflexes are sensitive to both the background activity of individual muscles and the aggregate activity of all muscles crossing the shoulder. The findings suggest that stretch reflexes play a role in maintaining shoulder stability during encounters with environmental perturbations.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Thomas A. M. Plaisier, Ana Maria Acosta, Julius P. A. Dewald
Summary: This study developed a new method to study the modulation of stretch reflexes by combining multijoint movements with haptic environments and high-velocity perturbations. Using this method, researchers found stretch reflexes in the biceps muscle during reaching in stroke patients, but not in the control group. This study is important for understanding the impact of neurological injuries, such as spasticity after stroke, on reflex control.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Zoe Villamar, Daniel Ludvig, Eric J. Perreault
Summary: The study investigates the relationship between volitional control and stretch reflex sensitivity during tasks that require coordinated muscle activity. The results show that reflex modulation during movement is better explained by background activity in antagonist muscles rather than activity in the muscle homonymous with the reflex.
JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Betilay Topkara, Tugba Aydin, Mustafa Corum, Ayse Karaoglu, Dilara Ekici Zincirci, Derya S. Bugdayci, Kadriye Ones, Nurdan Paker, Nur Kesiktas, Ilhan Karacan, Kemal S. Turker
Summary: This study proposed a method that uses wire electrodes as an intramuscular mechanosensor to determine the stretch reflex latency without lag time. By successfully extracting MASs signals from intramuscular wire electrodes, the reflex latency could be calculated for both gastrocnemius and rectus femoris muscles.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pedro Valadao, Lynn Bar-On, Francesco Cenni, Harri Piitulainen, Janne Avela, Taija Finni
Summary: Hyper-resistance, an increased resistance to passive muscle stretch commonly seen in neurological disorders, can be measured by stretch reflex threshold. In this study, we propose a correction method for calculating the stretch reflex threshold by considering stretch reflex latency, and evaluate its effect on children and young adults with spastic cerebral palsy.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Filipa M. Rodrigues, Ana Maria Abreu, Ingela Holmstrom, Ana Mineiro
Summary: This study examines the impact of an online environment on deaf and hard of hearing individuals, compared to hearing individuals and users/non-users of Portuguese Sign Language. The findings show that the deaf and hard of hearing group experience higher levels of post-task fatigue and lower performance scores compared to the hearing group. Additionally, the study reveals that hearing individuals who use Portuguese Sign Language also experience high levels of fatigue and lower performance scores.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Constantine P. Nicolozakes, Margaret S. Coats-Thomas, Daniel Ludvig, Amee L. Seitz, Eric J. Perreault
Summary: Muscle activation plays a crucial role in stabilizing the glenohumeral joint and preventing dislocations. Feedback control is essential for protecting the joint from unexpected perturbations. This study aimed to characterize stretch-evoked reflexes in active shoulder muscles. The findings showed that reflexes were larger in the rotator cuff muscles and were influenced by background activation. The observed reflexes likely arise from proprioceptors within the muscles and passive structures surrounding the shoulder. The coordination of reflex responses in the rotator cuff muscles may contribute to rapid stabilization of the shoulder in response to unexpected disturbances.
FRONTIERS IN INTEGRATIVE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Jia-Yin Ma, Jia-Jia Wu, Mou-Xiong Zheng, Xu-Yun Hua, Chun-Lei Shan, Jian-Guang Xu
Summary: This study aimed to explore how upper extremity H-reflexes are modulated by body position after stroke. The results showed that there is spinal stretch reflex hyperexcitability in strongly affected upper extremities after stroke, which may be down-modulated in different phases of recovery. There may be a correlation between postural control and upper extremity spinal stretch reflex hyperexcitability.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Alessia Sarica, Andrea Quattrone, Marianna Crasa, Rita Nistico, Maria Grazia Vaccaro, Maria Giovanna Bianco, Vera Gramigna, Marida De Maria, Basilio Vescio, Federico Rocca, Aldo Quattrone
Summary: The study found that essential tremor (ET) and resting tremor (rET) are different tremor syndromes with mild cerebellar gray matter involvement in both. In rET patients, the left Crus II may play a crucial role in modulating brainstem excitability.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Abbas Divani, Jamshid Mohammadi
Summary: This paper presents the further development of a spring mechanical system, including the derivation of equations for determining system parameters based on material properties, the development of applications for deriving fatigue life relations considering the ratio of minimum to maximum stress, and the extension of the model to incorporate hysteresis behavior under cyclic loading.
ENGINEERING STRUCTURES
(2022)
Article
Sport Sciences
Sho Ito, Kento Nakagawa, Tsuyoshi Nakajima, Misaki Iteya, Larry Crawshaw, Kazuyuki Kanosue
Summary: The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the upper limb stretch reflex in wrestlers. The experiment involved 10 wrestlers and 11 control subjects, and the results showed that high-level wrestlers have specific characteristics of the long-latency stretch reflex in the triceps brachii that are modulated in a situation-specific manner. There was no significant difference in the reflex of the biceps brachii.
MEDICINE & SCIENCE IN SPORTS & EXERCISE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
S. Sharifi, F. Luft, L. de Boer, A. W. G. Buijink, W. Mugge, A. C. Schouten, T. Heida, L. J. Bour, A. F. van Rootselaar
Summary: Tremor is considered to be an effect of oscillatory activity in the sensorimotor network, but the underlying pathological brain networks are not fully understood. This study aimed to disentangle the sensorimotor system into driving and feedback/compensatory involvement, and investigate tremor activity in ET and tremor-dominant PD using a closed-loop approach. The results showed similar activation patterns in the motor and sensory networks for ET patients and healthy controls, while PD patients had less activity during active motor tasks. These findings contribute to a better understanding of tremor pathophysiology.
Article
Mechanics
Yiqun Zhan, Hao Wu, Weimin Song, Shidong Xu, Yao Luo, Fei He
Summary: This study presents a new method for evaluating the fracture resistance of HMA under monotonic and fatigue loading at low and intermediate temperatures. The dissipated energy in the monotonic loading test is divided into plastic strain energy, elastic strain energy, and surface energy. The fatigue loading test analyzes the fracture behavior of HMA using parameters such as fatigue life, dissipated energy, cumulative dissipated energy, and damage factor. The results showed that lower temperatures and deeper notches can induce earlier crack initiation, and the energy absorption behavior changes with temperature.
ENGINEERING FRACTURE MECHANICS
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Jeong-Kyun Kim, Kangbok Lee, Sang Gi Hong
Summary: Understanding cognitive load is crucial for enhancing the potential of human-centric systems. Recently, there has been a growing interest in cognitive load detection, with competitions and data releases in this field. Managing cognitive load through wearable devices contributes to industrial safety and requires high prediction results with limited data. By detecting important features characterizing cognitive load, this study achieved high load detection accuracy with few features and a lightweight classifier.
HUMAN-CENTRIC COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Yen-Ting Chen, Yang Liu, Chuan Zhang, Elaine Magat, Ping Zhou, Yingchun Zhang, Sheng Li
Summary: This study aimed to comprehensively assess the effects of Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injection for managing focal spasticity in stroke survivors. The results showed that BoNT injection significantly reduced spasticity, muscle strength, reflex torque, and compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitude, and these effects returned to baseline levels after 3 months. Voluntary force control and non-reflex resistance torque were not affected.
Article
Sport Sciences
Kevin Cronin, Eamonn Delahunt, Shane Foley, Giuseppe De Vito, Conor McCarthy, Sean Cournane
Summary: The study aims to evaluate the influence of hamstring muscle architectural characteristics on injury risk by developing and assessing a novel semi-automated tracing software for precise measurement of the biceps femoris long head in B-mode ultrasound images.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Emer O'Hare, John A. Cogan, Frank Dillon, Madeleine Lowery, Eoin D. O'Cearbhaill
Summary: This study proposes a new method of detecting bruxism by using a pressure sensor to detect deformation of the masseter muscle. A linear discriminant analysis model was developed to classify recorded pressure data, and the accuracy of the sensor and machine-learning model was compared to that of the established method using masseter electromyogram (EMG). The results showed that the masseter pressure method and the masseter EMG method had similar accuracy, suggesting that the pressure sensor approach has the potential to be used for long-term home monitoring of bruxism.
IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Francesco Budini, Richard Mocnik, Markus Tilp, Domenico Crognale
Summary: This study investigated the effects of cognitive tasks on tremor by measuring tremor and evaluating hand dexterity. The results showed that mental calculation had a negative impact on hand postural tasks, resulting in increased tremor.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Elena de Marco Castro, Giacomo Valli, Caroline Buffiere, Christelle Guillet, Brian Mullen, Jedd Pratt, Katy Horner, Susanne Naumann-Gola, Stephanie Bader-Mittermaier, Matteo Paganini, Giuseppe De Vito, Helen M. Roche, Dominique Dardevet
Summary: This study investigates the postprandial amino acid appearance in healthy older adults after consuming different plant protein and fiber (PPF) products compared to whey protein with added fiber (WPF). The results show that PPF products had a lower maximal increase in leucine concentration and the sum of branched-chain and indispensable amino acid concentrations compared to WPF. However, plasma methionine, cysteine, and to a lesser extent, threonine appearance were limited only after consuming the PPF products. Additionally, WPF induced greater postprandial insulin concentrations than the PPF products, indicating potentially lower anabolic potential.
Article
Physiology
Kevin Cronin, Shane Foley, Sean Cournane, Giuseppe De Vito, Fearghal Kerin, Garreth Farrell, Eamonn Delahunt
Summary: This study aimed to determine whether there are differences in the architectural characteristics of the hamstring muscles between elite male and female rugby players. Using ultrasound imaging and measurements in 20 male and 20 female players, the study found significant differences in muscle thickness and length, with male players having thicker and longer muscles.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jedd Pratt, Laura Whitton, Anthony Ryan, Thorhildur Juliusdottir, Jackie Dolan, Judith Conroy, Marco Narici, Giuseppe De Vito, Colin Boreham
Summary: The genes AGRN and PRSS12 are associated with muscle mass and strength, indicating their importance in maintaining muscle health during aging. This study provides novel evidence supporting the role of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) in sarcopenia phenotypes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Francesco Budini, Monica Christova
Summary: The present study used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore the time course of corticospinal excitability during 30 seconds of static stretching (SS). The results showed an increased corticospinal excitability in the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle during the static lengthened phase of a muscle stretch.
Article
Biology
Giuseppe Sirago, Julian Candia, Martino V. Franchi, Fabio Sarto, Elena Monti, Luana Toniolo, Carlo Reggiani, Emiliana Giacomello, Sandra Zampieri, Lisa M. Hartnell, Giuseppe De Vito, Marco Sandri, Luigi Ferrucci, Marco V. Narici
Summary: Chronic inactivity of skeletal muscles leads to neuromuscular instability and muscle atrophy, and blocking the appearance of specific molecules can reduce the severity of muscle loss. Studies on humans and mice have shown that muscle inactivity causes changes in biomarkers and reveals potential mechanisms associated with neuromuscular disruption.
Article
Cell Biology
Carlos Henrique de Lemos Muller, Cesar Eduardo Jacintho Moritz, Helena Trevisan Schroeder, Ana Maria Oliveira Battastini, Alvaro Reischak-Oliveira, Paulo Ivo Homem de Bittencourt Junior, Giuseppe De Vito, Mauricio Krause
Summary: Being overweight is a metabolic risk factor that can be overcome by increasing cardiorespiratory fitness. Acute aerobic exercise induces changes in plasma hormones and heat shock proteins release, but the impact of body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness on these variables is not well studied. This research aimed to assess the influence of body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness on plasma levels of heat shock protein 72 kDa (HSP72), norepinephrine (NE), insulin, and glucose in response to acute aerobic exercise in the fed state. The results showed that the exercise session did not significantly affect HSP72 and NE levels, but glucose and insulin responses were influenced by body mass index. Subjects with higher cardiorespiratory fitness demonstrated reduced NE levels through exercise, while overweight individuals exhibited elevated NE, insulin, and glucose levels at baseline.
CELL STRESS & CHAPERONES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
John E. Fleming, Sageanne Senneff, Madeleine M. Lowery
Summary: This study presents a multivariable control architecture for selective suppression of motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. By simultaneously modulating the amplitude and duration of deep brain stimulation (DBS), effective control of both rest tremor and beta activity can be achieved with reduced power delivery. The control architecture also enables automatic regulation of stimulation dosage to prevent overstimulation and save power.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carlos Henrique de Lemos Muller, Helena Trevisan Schroeder, Juliano Boufleur Farinha, Pedro Lopez, Alvaro Reischak-Oliveira, Ronei Silveira Pinto, Paulo Ivo Homem de Bittencourt Junior, Mauricio Krause
Summary: Resistance training can increase the heat shock response in middle-aged individuals, leading to improvements in muscle mass and functional capacity, and reduction in lipid peroxidation. However, it does not have additional effects on antioxidant defenses and inflammation.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Nutrition & Dietetics
Mauricio Krause, Giuseppe De Vito
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Alexandre Trotier, Enrico Bagnoli, Tomasz Walski, Judith Evers, Eugenia Pugliese, Madeleine Lowery, Michelle Kilcoyne, Una Fitzgerald, Manus Biggs
Summary: The development of bioelectronic neural implant technologies, particularly in brain-machine interfaces and electronic medicine, has made significant progress in the past 5 years. However, invasive neurosurgery and mechanical shear caused by micromotion can lead to chronic inflammation, void formation and glial scar tissue deposition, hindering signal propagation and reducing the functionality of neural implants. The mechanisms behind these processes are still poorly understood.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Jedd Pratt, Ludmilla Pessanha, Marco Narici, Colin Boreham, Giuseppe De Vito
Summary: This study found a relationship between handgrip strength asymmetry and sarcopenia, and explored the relevance of circulating neural/neuromuscular markers. Individuals with asymmetrical handgrip strength had lower skeletal muscle index and handgrip strength, and higher risk of sarcopenia. Biomarker analysis suggested that heightened denervation may be a contributing factor to handgrip strength asymmetry.
AGING CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Alessandro Scotto di Palumbo, Fionn T. McSwiney, Michelle Hone, Aoibheann M. McMorrow, Gina Lynch, Giuseppe De Vito, Brendan Egan
Summary: A six-month supplementation study in older adults revealed that the multi-ingredient nutrition supplement had a significant impact on fat mass and hand-grip strength, showing potential efficacy in improving physical function, while the effects on lean body mass and circulating markers of metabolic health were limited.
JOURNAL OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
(2022)
