Cortical Stimulation Causes Long-term Changes in H-reflexes and Spinal Motoneuron GABA Receptors

Overview

Journal J Neurophysiol

Publisher American Physiological Society

Specialties Neurology
Physiology

Date 2012 Aug 31

PMID 22933718

Citations 10

Authors

Yu Wang

Yi Chen

Lu Chen

Jonathan R Wolpaw

Xiang Yang Chen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The cortex gradually modifies the spinal cord during development, throughout later life, and in response to trauma or disease. The mechanisms of this essential function are not well understood. In this study, weak electrical stimulation of rat sensorimotor cortex increased the soleus H-reflex, increased the numbers and sizes of GABAergic spinal interneurons and GABAergic terminals on soleus motoneurons, and decreased GABA(A) and GABA(B) receptor labeling in these motoneurons. Several months after the stimulation ended the interneuron and terminal increases had disappeared, but the H-reflex increase and the receptor decreases remained. The changes in GABAergic terminals and GABA(B) receptors accurately predicted the changes in H-reflex size. The results reveal a new long-term dimension to cortical-spinal interactions and raise new therapeutic possibilities.

Citing Articles

Motor learning changes the axon initial segment of the spinal motoneuron.

Wang Y, Chen Y, Chen L, Herron B, Chen X, Wolpaw J J Physiol. 2024; 602(9):2107-2126.

PMID: 38568869 PMC: 11196014. DOI: 10.1113/JP283875.

Transcriptome of rat subcortical white matter and spinal cord after spinal injury and cortical stimulation.

Kondiles B, Wei H, Chaboub L, Horner P, Wu J, Perlmutter S Sci Data. 2021; 8(1):175.

PMID: 34267212 PMC: 8282877. DOI: 10.1038/s41597-021-00953-4.

H-reflex conditioning during locomotion in people with spinal cord injury.

Thompson A, Wolpaw J J Physiol. 2019; 599(9):2453-2469.

PMID: 31215646 PMC: 7241089. DOI: 10.1113/JP278173.

Operant conditioning of the motor-evoked potential and locomotion in people with and without chronic incomplete spinal cord injury.

Thompson A, Fiorenza G, Smyth L, Favale B, Brangaccio J, Sniffen J J Neurophysiol. 2019; 121(3):853-866.

PMID: 30625010 PMC: 6442914. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00557.2018.

Operant conditioning of the tibialis anterior motor evoked potential in people with and without chronic incomplete spinal cord injury.

Thompson A, Cote R, Sniffen J, Brangaccio J J Neurophysiol. 2018; 120(6):2745-2760.

PMID: 30207863 PMC: 6337029. DOI: 10.1152/jn.00362.2018.

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