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Multimodal stimuli modulate rapid visual responses during reaching

Glover, IS; Baker, SN; (2019) Multimodal stimuli modulate rapid visual responses during reaching. Journal of Neurophysiology , 122 (5) pp. 1894-1908. 10.1152/jn.00158.2019. Green open access

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Abstract

The reticulospinal tract plays an important role in primate upper limb function, but methods for assessing its activity are limited. One promising approach is to measure rapid visual responses (RVRs) in arm muscle activity during a visually cued reaching task; these may arise from a tecto-reticulospinal pathway. We investigated whether changes in reticulospinal excitability can be assessed noninvasively using RVRs, by pairing the visual stimuli of the reaching task with electrical stimulation of the median nerve, galvanic vestibular stimulation, or loud sounds, all of which are known to activate the reticular formation. Surface electromyogram (EMG) recordings were made from the right deltoid of healthy human subjects as they performed fast reaching movements toward visual targets. Stimuli were delivered up to 200 ms before target appearance, and RVR was quantified as the EMG amplitude in a window 75–125 ms after visual target onset. Median nerve, vestibular, and auditory stimuli all consistently facilitated the RVRs, as well as reducing the latency of responses. We propose that this facilitation reflects modulation of tecto-reticulospinal excitability, which is consistent with the idea that the amplitude of RVRs can be used to assess changes in brain stem excitability noninvasively in humans.

Type: Article
Title: Multimodal stimuli modulate rapid visual responses during reaching
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00158.2019
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00158.2019
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Superior colliculus; brainstem; reaching; reticulospinal
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Department of Neuromuscular Diseases
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10090392
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