Citation

Holste KG, Yasen AL, Hill MJ, Christie AD. Motor Control 2015; 20(4): 380-394.

Affiliation

Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Human Kinetics Publishers)

DOI

10.1123/mc.2014-0047

PMID

26284751

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of a cognitive task on motor cortex excitability and inhibition. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex was performed on 20 healthy individuals (18-24 years; 9 females) to measure evoked potentials (MEPs) and cortical silent periods at baseline, during, and following a secondary cognitive task. The MEP amplitude increased from 0.50 ± 0.09 to 0.87 ± 0.50 mV during a secondary cognitive task (p=0.04), and returned to baseline (0.48 ± 0.31 mV; p=0.90) post-task. The CSP duration also increased from 93.48 ± 28.76 to 113.6 ± 33.68 ms (p=0.001) during the cognitive task, and returned to baseline post-task (89.0 ± 6.9 ms; p=0.88). In the presence of a cognitive task, motor cortex excitability and inhibition were both increased relative to baseline. The increase in inhibition may help to explain the motor deficits experienced while performing a secondary cognitive task.

Language: en