Open AccessEEG Correlates of Central Origin of Cancer-Related Fatigue
Author(s) -
Didier Allexandre,
Dilara Seyidova-Khoshknabi,
Mellar P. Davis,
Vinoth K. Ranganathan,
Vlodek Siemionow,
Declan Walsh,
Guang H. Yue
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
neural plasticity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.288
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 2090-5904
pISSN - 1687-5443
DOI - 10.1155/2020/8812984
Subject(s) - electroencephalography , neurophysiology , muscle fatigue , physical medicine and rehabilitation , cancer related fatigue , central nervous system , medicine , audiology , psychology , neuroscience , electromyography , cancer
The neurophysiological mechanism of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) remains poorly understood. EEG was examined during a sustained submaximal contraction (SC) task to further understand our prior research findings of greater central contribution to early fatigue during SC in CRF. Advanced cancer patients and matched healthy controls performed an elbow flexor SC until task failure while undergoing neuromuscular testing and EEG recording. EEG power changes over left and right sensorimotor cortices were analyzed and correlated with brief fatigue inventory (BFI) score and evoked muscle force, a measure of central fatigue. Brain electrical activity changes during the SC differed in CRF from healthy subjects mainly in the theta (4-8 Hz) and beta (12-30 Hz) bands in the contralateral (to the fatigued limb) hemisphere; changes were correlated with the evoked force. Also, the gamma band (30-50 Hz) power decrease during the SC did not return to baseline after 2 min of rest in CRF, an effect correlated with BFI score. In conclusion, altered brain electrical activity during a fatigue task in patients is associated with central fatigue during SC or fatigue symptoms, suggesting its potential contribution to CRF during motor performance. This information should guide the development and use of rehabilitative interventions that target the central nervous system to maximize function recovery.