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Changes in cortically induced inhibition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with time
Author(s) -
Attarian Shahram,
Pouget Jean,
Schmied Annie
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.21137
Subject(s) - amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , transcranial magnetic stimulation , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , neuroscience , silent period , medicine , motor cortex , stimulation , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , disease
Changes in intracortical inhibition have been detected by means of paired‐pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) based on electromyographic recordings in many neurological or psychiatric disorders, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). By contrast, inhibitory responses have been generally overlooked in single motor unit (MU) studies in patients with ALS. The aim of this study was to investigate the TMS‐induced inhibitory responses of single MUs in peristimulus time histograms and the changes observed with time. For this purpose, 263 MUs were tested in 10 ALS patients in two to four recording sessions. Upon subdividing the data into epochs corresponding to mean disease durations of 12, 20, 32, 43, and 168 months, we found that inhibitory responses occurred more frequently than normal throughout the course of the disease and were stronger than normal during the first year after disease onset. This finding argues against the hypothesis that loss of inhibition may be part of the pathogenic process in ALS. Muscle Nerve 39: 310–317, 2009