Cortical Effects of Peripheral Proprioceptive Stimulation on the Motor Evoked Potentials of the Limbs

April 19, 2025 updated by: Pedro Victor López Plaza, Facultat de ciencies de la Salut Universitat Ramon Llull

Through motor muscle potentials, we will observe how a peripheral somatosensory mechanical stimulus on key limb musculature communicates signals via afferent sensory fibers that encode proprioceptive signals from muscle spindles (particularly type Ia fibers) to the somatosensory cortex at rest, confirming the integrative hypothesis of movement.

These results would support interventions aimed at addressing sensory deafferentation present in multiple health conditions related to movement disorders, where disuse or immobilization lead to changes in movement patterns and a decrease in neuronal activation in somatosensory cortex areas involved in constructing voluntary movement.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Objective: To evaluate whether a proprioceptive stimulus applied to the limb of healthy subjects activates the corticospinal pathway, compared to a condition without stimulation, through the analysis of motor evoked potentials (MEPs).

Methods: Experimental and crossover. Each participant will serve as their own control and will be assessed under both stimulation (experimental) and no-stimulation (control) conditions.The stimulus will consist of intermittent mechanical pressure on the skin located at the neuromuscular motor points (NMPs) of the upper limb (biceps muscle (B) and wrist extensors (WE)) and the lower limb (rectus femoris of the quadriceps (RFQ) and tibialis anterior (TA).Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) will be recorded from the B, WE, RFQ, and TA muscles using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).The optimal stimulation point (hotspot-the area where TMS generates the highest MEP) will be identified individually for the B, WE, RFQ, and TA muscles.Participants will be recruited at the facilities of the Faculty of Physiotherapy and Nursing of Castilla-La Mancha University (UCLM), in collaboration with the Toledo Physiotherapy Research Group (GIFTO) and the Faculty of Health Sciences, Blanquerna - Ramon Llull University.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

31

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Spain
      • Barcelona, Spain
        • Pedro Victor López Plaza
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Pedro Victor López Plaza
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Julio Gómez Soriano
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Lorenzo Escutia
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Ismael Ordoñez

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Good health status with no history of neuromuscular injuries, surgical interventions, or trauma affecting the central or peripheral nervous system.

Not currently taking drugs or medications known to affect the central nervous system, and not pregnant at the time of testing.

No metallic or electronic implants and no history of epilepsy.

(Safety, ethical considerations, and application guidelines for the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation in clinical practice and research)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Condition without proprioceptive stimulation:
Participants will not receive the stimulus, and MEP activity will be recorded under the same motor cortex stimulation conditions.
Experimental: Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 1
Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation through the output plunger, applied continuously for 15 seconds, with 20-second rest intervals, over a total duration of 5 minutes. MEP activity will then be recorded via motor cortex stimulation.
Device: proprioceptive stimulation

Condition without proprioceptive stimulation: Participants will not receive the stimulus, and MEP activity will be recorded under the same motor cortex stimulation conditions.

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 1: Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation through the output plunger, applied continuously for 15 seconds, with 20-second rest intervals, over a total duration of 5 minutes. MEP activity will then be recorded via motor cortex stimulation.

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 2: Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation continuously during the application of TMS pulses while MEP activity is recorded.
Active Comparator: Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 2
Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation continuously during the application of TMS pulses while MEP activity is recorded.
Device: proprioceptive stimulation

Condition without proprioceptive stimulation: Participants will not receive the stimulus, and MEP activity will be recorded under the same motor cortex stimulation conditions.

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 1: Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation through the output plunger, applied continuously for 15 seconds, with 20-second rest intervals, over a total duration of 5 minutes. MEP activity will then be recorded via motor cortex stimulation.

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 2: Participants will receive proprioceptive stimulation continuously during the application of TMS pulses while MEP activity is recorded.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Motor evoked potentials (MEPs)
Time Frame: 45 minuts
transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
45 minuts

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Facultat de ciencies de la Salut Universitat Ramon Llull

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

May 20, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 15, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 12, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 12, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 20, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 24, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 19, 2025

Last Verified

April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025-04-07

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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