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Protocol Number:
04-N-0107
- Title:
Motor Skill Learning: Spinal Reflexes
- Number:
04-N-0107
- Summary:
This study will test a spinal cord reflex called reciprocal inhibition before, during, and after learning a motor skill to see if the reflex becomes stronger by learning the movement. People learn new motor skills throughout their lives. At first, performing a new skilled movement such as riding a bicycle takes effort and is clumsy, but with practice, it becomes relatively automatic. The motor cortex (a part of the brain) is very active when a new skilled movement is learned, but becomes less active when the movement is over-learned. This study will determine whether the spinal cord helps coordinate the pattern of activity between groups of muscles once a motor skill is learned.
Healthy volunteers between 21 and 65 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a medical history and neurological examination.
Participants are divided into two groups. Group 1 has movement training sessions only and Group 2 has both movement training sessions and physiology sessions, as follows:
Movement training sessions
For 15 minutes every weekday, participants practice moving their wrist back and forth to make a cursor on the computer screen follow a target. Activity of the arm muscles is monitored with surface electrodes taped to the skin. The sessions continue until the participant can perform the movement well. Group 1 participants return to the clinic a week after the last session to perform the movement again to see if their skill level has changed. Each session lasts about 20 to 30 minutes.
Physiology sessions
In three separate sessions, the reflex for reciprocal inhibition is measured before and at several times during the movement task. This is done with nerve conduction studies. A probe placed on the skin delivers a low-intensity electrical stimulus. Wires taped to the skin record the nerve impulses. To measure reciprocal inhibition, several dozen stimuli are given to two nerves in combinations. Each session lasts 2 to 3 hours.
- Sponsoring Institute:
-
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
- Recruitment Detail
- Type:
Active Accrual Of New Subjects
- Gender:
Male & Female
- Referral Letter Required:
No
- Population Exclusion(s):
Children
- Eligibility Criteria:
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
Healthy individuals between the ages of 21-65 years who are willing to participate in daily training sessions and physiological studies.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Any history of peripheral nerve injury, cervical radiculopathy, arthritis, tendonitis, or surgery on the wrist.
- Special Instructions:
Currently Not Provided
- Keywords:
-
Motor Learning
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Co-contraction
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Reciprocal Inhibition
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Spinal Plasticity
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Rhythmic Movement
- Recruitment Keywords:
-
Healthy Volunteer
-
HV
- Conditions:
-
Healthy
- Investigational Drug(s):
- None
- Investigational Device(s):
- None
- Contacts:
-
Patient Recruitment and Public Liaison Office
Building 61
10 Cloister Court
Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4754
Toll Free: 1-800-411-1222
TTY: 301-594-9774 (local),1-866-411-1010 (toll free)
Fax: 301-480-9793
Electronic Mail:prpl@mail.cc.nih.gov
- Citations:
-
Pascual-Leone A, Grafman J, Hallett M. Related Articles, Links
Modulation of cortical motor output maps during development of implicit and explicit knowledge. Science. 1994 Mar 4; 263(5151): 1287-9. PMID: 8122113
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Smith ME, McEvoy LK, Gevins A. Related Articles, Links
Neurophysiological indices of strategy development and skill acquisition. Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1999 Jan; 7(3): 389-404. PMID: 9838200
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Honda M, Deiber MP, Ibanez V, Pascual-Leone A, Zhuang P, Hallett M. Related Articles, Links Dynamic cortical involvement in implicit and explicit motor sequence learning. A PET study.
Brain. 1998 Nov; 121 ( Pt 11): 2159-73. PMID: 9827775
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 Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (CC)
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