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Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on January 28, 2009
Cerebral Cortex 2009 19(10):2326-2330; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn255
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Associative Motor Cortex Plasticity: Direct Evidence in Humans

V. Di Lazzaro1,2, M. Dileone1, F. Pilato1, P. Profice1, A. Oliviero1,3, P. Mazzone4, A. Insola4, F. Capone1, F. Ranieri1 and P.A. Tonali1,2

1 Institute of Neurology, Università Cattolica, L.go A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy, 2 Fondazione Don C Gnocchi, 00194 Rome, Italy, 3 FENNSI Group, Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos, SESCAM, Finca la Peraleda, 45071 Toledo, Spain, 4 Neurochirurgia CTO, Via S. Nemesio 21, 00145 Rome, Italy

Address correspondence to Vincenzo Di Lazzaro, Associate Professor of Neurology, Istituto di Neurologia, Università Cattolica, L.go A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy. Email: vdilazzaro{at}rm.unicatt.it.

Previous studies have shown that paired associative stimulation (PAS) protocol, in which peripheral nerve stimuli are followed by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex at intervals that produce an approximately synchronous activation of cortical networks, enhances the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) evoked by cortical stimulation. Indirect data support the hypothesis that the enhancement of MEPs produced by PAS involves long-term potentiation like changes in cortical synapses. The aim of present paper was to investigate the central nervous system level at which PAS produces its effects. We recorded corticospinal descending volleys evoked by single pulse TMS of the motor cortex before and after PAS in 4 conscious subjects who had an electrode implanted in the cervical epidural space for the control of pain. The descending volleys evoked by TMS represent postsynaptic activity of corticospinal neurones that can provide indirect information about the effectiveness of synaptic inputs to these neurones. PAS significantly enhanced the amplitude of later descending waves, whereas the earliest descending wave was not significantly modified by PAS. The present results show that PAS may increase the amplitude of later corticospinal volleys, consistent with a cortical origin of the effect of PAS.

Key Words: LTP • motor cortex • plasticity • transcranial magnetic stimulation


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