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Theodosiadou A, Henry M, Duchateau J, Baudry S. Revisiting the use of Hoffmann reflex in motor control research on humans. Eur J Appl Physiol 2023; 123:695-710. [PMID: 36571622 DOI: 10.1007/s00421-022-05119-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Research in movement science aims at unravelling mechanisms and designing methods for restoring and maximizing human functional capacity, and many techniques provide access to neural adjustments (acute changes) or long-term adaptations (chronic changes) underlying changes in movement capabilities. First described by Paul Hoffmann over a century ago, when an electrical stimulus is applied to a peripheral nerve, this causes action potentials in afferent axons, primarily the Ia afferents of the muscle spindles, which recruit homonymous motor neurons, thereby causing an electromyographic response known as the Hoffmann (H) reflex. This technique is a valuable tool in the study of the neuromuscular function in humans and has provided relevant information in the neural control of movement. The large use of the H reflex in motor control research on humans relies in part to its relative simplicity. However, such simplicity masks subtleties that require rigorous experimental protocols and careful data interpretation. After highlighting basic properties and methodological aspects that should be considered for the correct use of the H-reflex technique, this brief narrative review discusses the purpose of the H reflex and emphasizes its use as a tool to assess the effectiveness of Ia afferents in discharging motor neurones. The review also aims to reconsider the link between H-reflex modulation and Ia presynaptic inhibition, the use of the H-reflex technique in motor control studies, and the effects of ageing. These aspects are summarized as recommendations for the use of the H reflex in motor control research on humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasia Theodosiadou
- Laboratory of Applied Biology, Research Unit in Applied Neurophysiology (LABNeuro), Faculty of Motor Sciences, ULB-Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, CP 640, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mélanie Henry
- Laboratory of Applied Biology, Research Unit in Applied Neurophysiology (LABNeuro), Faculty of Motor Sciences, ULB-Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, CP 640, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jacques Duchateau
- Laboratory of Applied Biology, Research Unit in Applied Neurophysiology (LABNeuro), Faculty of Motor Sciences, ULB-Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, CP 640, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Stéphane Baudry
- Laboratory of Applied Biology, Research Unit in Applied Neurophysiology (LABNeuro), Faculty of Motor Sciences, ULB-Neurosciences Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 808 Route de Lennik, CP 640, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
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Spinal Cord Circuits: Models and Reality. NEUROPHYSIOLOGY+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11062-022-09927-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Local vibration inhibits H-reflex but does not compromise manual dexterity and does not increase tremor. Hum Mov Sci 2017; 55:221-228. [PMID: 28843638 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2017.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Revised: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The present work aimed at investigating the effects of local vibration on upper limb postural and kinetic tremor, on manual dexterity and on spinal reflex excitability. Previous studies have demonstrated a decrease in spinal reflex excitability and in force fluctuations in the lower limb but an increase in force fluctuation in the upper limbs. As hand steadiness is of vital importance in many daily-based tasks, and local vibration may also be applied in movement disorders, we decided to further explore this phenomenon. Ten healthy volunteers (26±3years) were tested for H reflex, postural and kinetic tremor and manual dexterity through a Purdue test. EMG was recorded from flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and extensor digitorum communis (EDC). Measurements were repeated at baseline, after a control period during which no vibration was delivered and after vibration. Intervention consisted in holding for two minutes a vibrating handle (frequency 75Hz, displacement∼7mm), control consisted in holding for two minutes the same handle powered off. Reflex excitability decreased after vibration whilst postural tremor and manual dexterity were not affected. Peak kinetic tremor frequency increased from baseline to control measurements (P=0.002). Co-activation EDC/FCR increased from control to vibration (P=0.021). These results show that two minutes local vibration lead to a decrease in spinal excitability, did not compromise manual dexterity and did not increase tremor; however, in contrast with expectations, tremor did not decrease. It is suggested that vibration activated several mechanisms with opposite effects, which resulted in a neutral outcome on postural and kinetic tremor.
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Harwood B, Cornett KMD, Edwards DL, Brown RE, Jakobi JM. The effect of tendon vibration on motor unit activity, intermuscular coherence and force steadiness in the elbow flexors of males and females. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2014; 211:597-608. [PMID: 24888350 DOI: 10.1111/apha.12319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2013] [Revised: 12/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Compartmentalized responses in motor unit (MU) activity of the short head (SH) and long head (LH) of the biceps brachii are observed following forearm position change. Differential muscle spindle afferent distribution has been proposed as a potential mechanism underlying this behaviour. Tendon vibration is an effective, non-invasive method of increasing muscle spindle afferent activity of a target muscle group offering a paradigm in which this hypothesis may be investigated further. AIM To determine the effect of tendon vibration on MU recruitment and discharge rates of the SH and LH, muscle activity of the elbow flexors and triceps brachii, intermuscular coherence among the SH, LH, brachioradialis and triceps brachii and force steadiness in young males and females during isometric elbow flexion. METHODS Intramuscular electromyography (EMG) of the SH and LH, and surface EMG of the elbow flexors were recorded pre- and post-vibration during low-force isometric contractions. Motor unit recruitment thresholds, MU discharge rates and MU discharge variability; surface EMG amplitude, intermuscular coherence and force steadiness were determined pre- and post-vibration. RESULTS Differential changes in all MU properties, EMG amplitude and intermuscular coherence were observed among elbow flexors. Although MU properties exhibited differential changes, they accounted for little variance in isometric force steadiness. However, intermuscular EMG coherence among all muscles investigated was reduced post-vibration. CONCLUSION Uncoupling of common oscillatory input as a result of differential muscle spindle afferent inputs to elbow flexors may be responsible for the reduction in force steadiness following tendon vibration and a forearm position change.
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Affiliation(s)
- B. Harwood
- Health and Exercise Science; University of British Columbia Okanagan; Kelowna BC Canada
- Department of Physiology; University of Arizona; Tucson AZ USA
| | - K. M. D. Cornett
- Health and Exercise Science; University of British Columbia Okanagan; Kelowna BC Canada
| | - D. L. Edwards
- Human Kinetics; University of Windsor; Windsor ON Canada
| | - R. E. Brown
- Health and Exercise Science; University of British Columbia Okanagan; Kelowna BC Canada
| | - J. M. Jakobi
- Department of Physiology; University of Arizona; Tucson AZ USA
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Evolutionary psychologists need to distinguish between the evolutionary process, ancestral selection pressures, and psychological mechanisms. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Selfishness reexamined: No man is an island. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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How useful is a concept such as muscle partitioning? Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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The physiological basis and implications of differential motor activation. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Selfish genes and ingroup altruism. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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A Comparative approach to muscle function. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x0002505x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Abstract
AbstractSocial dilemmas occur when the pursuit of self-interest by individuals in a group leads to less than optimal collective outcomes for everyone in the group. A critical assumption in the human sciences is that people's choices in such dilemmas are individualistic, selfish, and rational. Hence, cooperation in the support of group welfare will only occur if there are selfish incentives that convert the social dilemma into a nondilemma. In recent years, inclusive fitness theories have lent weight to such traditional views of rational selfishness on Darwinian grounds. To show that cooperation is based on selfish incentives, however, one must provide evidence that people do not cooperate without such incentives. In a series of experimental social dilemmas, subjects were instructed to make single, anonymous choices about whether or not to contribute money for a shared “bonus” that would be provided only if enough other people in the group also contributed their money. Noncontributors cited selfish reasons for their choices; contributors did not. If people are allowed to engage in discussion, they will contribute resources at high rates, frequently on irrational grounds, to promote group welfare. These findings are consistent with previous research on ingroup biasing effects that cannot be explained by “economic man” or “selfish gene” theories. An alternative explanation is that sociality was a primary factor shaping the evolution of Homo sapiens. The cognitive and affective mechanisms underlying such choices evolved under selection pressures on small groups for developing and maintaining group membership and for predicting and controlling the behavior of other group members. This sociality hypothesis organizes previously inexplicable and disparate phenomena in a Darwinian framework and makes novel predictions about human choice.
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Continuous and discrete models and measures of speech events. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Partitioning hypothesis in perspective. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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A multiple source, or, is a striped apple more striped than a striped orange? Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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The use of mathematical models in perceptual theory. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Ecological and social factors in hominid evolution. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Central partitioning may be altered during high-frequency activation of the lamotoneuron connection. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Speech perception by ear, eye, hand, and mind. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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What is the organization, scope, and functional significance of partitioning? Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Abstract
AbstractStudies have shown that in the mammalian neuromuscular system stretch reflexes are localized within individual muscles. Neuromuscular compartmentalization, the partitioning of sensory output from muscles, and the partitioning of segmental pathways to motor nuclei have also been demonstrated. This evidence indicates that individual motor nuclei and the muscles they innervate are not homogeneous functional units. An analysis of the functional significance of reflex localization and partitioning suggests that segmental control mechanisms are based on subdivisions of motor nuclei–muscle complexes. A partitioned organization of segmental control mechanisms could utilize (1) the potential functional diversity of muscle fiber types, (2) the variety of mechanical actions of individual muscles arising from their distributed origins and insertions, and (3) diverse architectural features such as intramuscular variations in pinnation and complex in-series and in-parallel arrangements of muscle fibers. The differentiated activity observed in some muscles during natural movements also calls for localized segmental control mechanisms. Partitioning may also play a role in mechanical interactions between contracting motor units and in increasing the stability of neuromuscular systems. The functional advantages of reflex localization and partitioning suggest they are probably common features of segmental systems, whose organization reflects the structure and function of their associated neuromuscular systems.
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Do we need two souls to explain cooperation? Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Acoustic reflex partitioning in the stapedius. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Reflex partitioning and differential control of human motor units. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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On the regional distribution of muscle spindles. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x0002522x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Central versus peripheral aspects of neuromuscular regionalization. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Functional partitioning of motor unit populations. Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00025036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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