{"title":"Enhancement of Motor Learning and Corticospinal Excitability: The Role of Electroacupuncture and Motor Training in Healthy Volunteers.","authors":"Jiahui Lin, Jiemei Li, Jianpeng Huang, Sheng Li, Jian Sun, Jianhua Liu","doi":"10.12659/MSM.943748","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BACKGROUND This study embarked on an innovative exploration to elucidate the effects of integrating electroacupuncture (EA) with motor training (MT) on enhancing corticospinal excitability and motor learning. Central to this investigation is the interplay between homeostatic and non-homeostatic metaplasticity processes, providing insights into how these combined interventions may influence neural plasticity and motor skill acquisition. MATERIAL AND METHODS The investigation enrolled 20 healthy volunteers, subjecting them to 4 distinct interventions to parse out the individual and combined effects of EA and MT. These interventions were EA alone, MT alone, EA-priming followed by MT, and MT-priming followed by EA. The assessment of changes in primary motor cortex (M1) excitability was conducted through motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), while the grooved pegboard test (GPT) was used to evaluate alterations in motor performance. RESULTS The findings revealed that EA and MT independently contributed to enhanced M1 excitability and motor performance. However, the additional priming with EA or MT did not yield further modulation in MEPs amplitudes. Notably, EA-priming was associated with improved GPT completion times, underscoring its potential in facilitating motor learning. CONCLUSIONS The study underscores that while EA and MT individually augment motor cortex excitability and performance, their synergistic application does not further enhance or inhibit cortical excitability. This points to the involvement of non-homeostatic metaplasticity mechanisms. Nonetheless, EA emerges as a critical tool in preventing M1 overstimulation, thereby continuously fostering motor learning. The findings call for further research into the strategic application of EA, whether in isolation or with MT, within clinical settings to optimize rehabilitation outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48888,"journal":{"name":"Medical Science Monitor","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11177720/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medical Science Monitor","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.943748","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study embarked on an innovative exploration to elucidate the effects of integrating electroacupuncture (EA) with motor training (MT) on enhancing corticospinal excitability and motor learning. Central to this investigation is the interplay between homeostatic and non-homeostatic metaplasticity processes, providing insights into how these combined interventions may influence neural plasticity and motor skill acquisition. MATERIAL AND METHODS The investigation enrolled 20 healthy volunteers, subjecting them to 4 distinct interventions to parse out the individual and combined effects of EA and MT. These interventions were EA alone, MT alone, EA-priming followed by MT, and MT-priming followed by EA. The assessment of changes in primary motor cortex (M1) excitability was conducted through motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), while the grooved pegboard test (GPT) was used to evaluate alterations in motor performance. RESULTS The findings revealed that EA and MT independently contributed to enhanced M1 excitability and motor performance. However, the additional priming with EA or MT did not yield further modulation in MEPs amplitudes. Notably, EA-priming was associated with improved GPT completion times, underscoring its potential in facilitating motor learning. CONCLUSIONS The study underscores that while EA and MT individually augment motor cortex excitability and performance, their synergistic application does not further enhance or inhibit cortical excitability. This points to the involvement of non-homeostatic metaplasticity mechanisms. Nonetheless, EA emerges as a critical tool in preventing M1 overstimulation, thereby continuously fostering motor learning. The findings call for further research into the strategic application of EA, whether in isolation or with MT, within clinical settings to optimize rehabilitation outcomes.
期刊介绍:
Medical Science Monitor (MSM) established in 1995 is an international, peer-reviewed scientific journal which publishes original articles in Clinical Medicine and related disciplines such as Epidemiology and Population Studies, Product Investigations, Development of Laboratory Techniques :: Diagnostics and Medical Technology which enable presentation of research or review works in overlapping areas of medicine and technology such us (but not limited to): medical diagnostics, medical imaging systems, computer simulation of health and disease processes, new medical devices, etc. Reviews and Special Reports - papers may be accepted on the basis that they provide a systematic, critical and up-to-date overview of literature pertaining to research or clinical topics. Meta-analyses are considered as reviews. A special attention will be paid to a teaching value of a review paper.
Medical Science Monitor is internationally indexed in Thomson-Reuters Web of Science, Journals Citation Report (JCR), Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI), Index Medicus MEDLINE, PubMed, PMC, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Chemical Abstracts CAS and Index Copernicus.