Research Article: Influence of sports on cortical excitability in patients with spinal cord injury, a TMS study Provisionally Accepted
Abstract
Background: Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) show abnormal cortical excitability that might be caused by deafferentation. We hypothesize a reduced short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) preceding movement in patients with SCI compared to healthy participants. Additionally, we expect that neuroplasticity induced by different types of sports can modulate intracortical inhibition during movement preparation in patients with SCI.Methods: We used a reaction test and double paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to record cortical excitability, assessed by measuring amplitudes of motor evoked potentials (MEP) in preparation of movement. Participants were grouped in patients with SCI practicing wheelchair dancing (n= 7), other sports (n= 6), no sports (n= 9), and healthy controls (n= 24).Results: There were no significant differences between healthy participants and the patients, nor between the patient groups. A non-significant trend (p=.238), showed that patients engaged in sports have a stronger increase compared to patients of the non-sportive group, while the other sports group expressing the highest increase in cortical excitability.The small sample sizes limit statistical power of the study, but the trending effect warrants further investigation of different sports on neuroplasticity in SCI patients. It is not clear Feldfunktion geändert how neuroplastic changes impact the sensorimotor output of the affected extremities in the patient. This needs to be followed up in further studies with a greater sample size.
