Ignite Creation Date:
2024-05-05 @ 11:32 AM
Last Modification Date:
2024-10-26 @ 9:09 AM
Study NCT ID:
NCT00076583
Status:
COMPLETED
Last Update Posted:
2008-03-04
First Post:
2004-01-26
Brief Title:
Spinal Reflexes in Motor Skill Learning
Sponsor:
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NINDS
Organization:
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center CC
Study Overview
Official Title:
Motor Skill Learning Spinal Reflexes
Status:
COMPLETED
Status Verified Date:
2005-11
Last Known Status:
None
Delayed Posting:
No
If Stopped, Why?:
Not Stopped
Has Expanded Access:
False
If Expanded Access, NCT#:
N/A
Has Expanded Access, NCT# Status:
N/A
Acronym:
None
Brief 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
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
Detailed Description:
Objective
Once a skilled movement is thoroughly learned it can be performed relatively automatically The motor cortex is active when learning a new motor skill but becomes less activated once the skill has become over-learned We hypothesize that learning a skilled movement is associated with more efficient use of subcortical motor circuits Subcortical motor circuits can coordinate features of the intended movement such as the timing and patterns of activation of different muscles The goal of this study is to determine whether learning a motor skill strengthens spinal interneuron circuits that facilitate the movement Subjects will learn to perform a movement consisting of alternating wrist movements The strength of reciprocal inhibition between antagonist muscles will be tested
Study Population
22 healthy adult volunteers
Design
The study has two experiments Both experiments use a within-subjects design The purpose of the first experiment is to determine whether learning to accurately perform an alternating wrist flexion and extension movement task is associated with reduced co-contraction of wrist flexor and extensor muscles Subjects will practice making accurate wrist flexions and extensions to keep a cursor on a target for fifteen-minute sessions every weekday until they are able to obtain 95 accuracy Activity of the arm muscles will be monitored during the sessions with surface electrodes on the arm muscles The first experiment will also determine the best training parameters for learning the task In the second experiment a second group of subjects will learn the task using the best training parameters The strength of the reflex for reciprocal inhibition will be measured before during and after training Reciprocal inhibition will also be measured after the movement has become highly learned
Outcome measures
In the first experiment the outcome will be the percent of movement time in which co-contraction occurs as recorded from surface electrodes while the subject learns to perform the movement to 95 accuracy In the second experiment the outcome measure is the strength of spinally mediated reciprocal inhibition as measured using reflexes
Once a skilled movement is thoroughly learned it can be performed relatively automatically The motor cortex is active when learning a new motor skill but becomes less activated once the skill has become over-learned We hypothesize that learning a skilled movement is associated with more efficient use of subcortical motor circuits Subcortical motor circuits can coordinate features of the intended movement such as the timing and patterns of activation of different muscles The goal of this study is to determine whether learning a motor skill strengthens spinal interneuron circuits that facilitate the movement Subjects will learn to perform a movement consisting of alternating wrist movements The strength of reciprocal inhibition between antagonist muscles will be tested
Study Population
22 healthy adult volunteers
Design
The study has two experiments Both experiments use a within-subjects design The purpose of the first experiment is to determine whether learning to accurately perform an alternating wrist flexion and extension movement task is associated with reduced co-contraction of wrist flexor and extensor muscles Subjects will practice making accurate wrist flexions and extensions to keep a cursor on a target for fifteen-minute sessions every weekday until they are able to obtain 95 accuracy Activity of the arm muscles will be monitored during the sessions with surface electrodes on the arm muscles The first experiment will also determine the best training parameters for learning the task In the second experiment a second group of subjects will learn the task using the best training parameters The strength of the reflex for reciprocal inhibition will be measured before during and after training Reciprocal inhibition will also be measured after the movement has become highly learned
Outcome measures
In the first experiment the outcome will be the percent of movement time in which co-contraction occurs as recorded from surface electrodes while the subject learns to perform the movement to 95 accuracy In the second experiment the outcome measure is the strength of spinally mediated reciprocal inhibition as measured using reflexes
Study Oversight
Has Oversight DMC:
None
Is a FDA Regulated Drug?:
None
Is a FDA Regulated Device?:
None
Is an Unapproved Device?:
None
Is a PPSD?:
None
Is a US Export?:
None
Is an FDA AA801 Violation?:
None
Secondary IDs
| Secondary ID | Type | Domain | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04-N-0107 | None | None | None |