Biomedical subjects

Bruno Gregori

Publications and source records attributed to Bruno Gregori.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Visual evoked potentials modulation during direct current cortical polarization.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at low intensity induces changes in cortical excitability that persist after polarization ends. The effects of anodal and cathodal polarization remain controversial. We studied changes in visual evoked potentials (VEPs) during and after anodal and cathodal tDCS by applying, in healthy volunteers, 1 mA polarization through surface electrodes placed over the occipital scalp (polarizing) and over the anterior or posterior neck-base (reference). We compared tDCS applied at two durations, 3 and 10 min and both polarities. We assessed VEP-P100 latencies and amplitudes in response to pattern-reversal checkerboard stimuli before, during, and after polarization. Anodal polarization reduced VEP-P100 amplitude whereas cathodal polarization significantly increased amplitude but both polarities left latency statistically unchanged. These changes persisted for some minutes after polarization ended depending on the duration of tDCS and on the contrast level of visual stimuli. tDCS-induced changes in VEPs seem to depend on the duration of polarization and type of visual stimuli used. The effects induced on visual cortical neurones during polarization are more consistent than the aftereffects. Studying these changes during polarization may therefore improve our understanding of these phenomena.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Vep latency: sex and head size.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether differences in visual evoked potential (VEP) latencies in a large sample of healthy subjects are influenced by different head size or sex or both. METHODS: Black-and-white pattern-reversal checkerboard VEPs at a frequency of 2c/deg. were recorded in a group of 54 normal subjects of both sexes (age 30.15+/-9.12 years). P100 latency was measured in all subjects and the data were analyzed in the whole sample and in a selected subgroup of subjects of both sexes with comparable head size. RESULTS: In the study group overall, the P100 latency was slightly shorter in females than males and this small difference reached only weak statistical significance (P<0.04) whereas head size differed significantly between sexes (females<males) (P<0.001). No difference was found in the P100 latency in the subgroup of the two sexes with a comparable range of head size. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that VEP latency is relatively constant in a sample of healthy subjects. The slight sex difference in P100 latencies observed in a normal sample is mainly related to the slightly smaller average head size in females than in males. SIGNIFICANCE: Head size, not sex, should be considered for VEP latency normative studies.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

The timing and intensity of transcranial magnetic stimulation, and the scalp site stimulated, as variables influencing motor sequence performance in healthy subjects.

OBJECTIVE: The increasing therapeutic use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in disorders of cortical excitability raises the need for reliable stimulus variables. Stimulation of cortical motor areas influences motor programming and execution. We investigated the effects of TMS delivered over various cortical motor areas during the reaction time (RT) on the execution of sequential rapid arm movements in healthy subjects. METHODS: Subjects performed a five-submovement (S1-S5) motor sequence mainly involving upper limb proximal muscles. RT and movement time (MT) were measured. We delivered late (close to movement onset) and early (close to the go signal) TMS over the primary motor area (M1-FDI hot-spot for the first dorsal interosseus, M1-D hot-spot for the deltoid muscle), the premotor (PM) area, and the supplementary motor area (SMA), using subthreshold and suprathreshold intensity, single and triple pulses. RESULTS: The motor sequence showed a characteristic pattern of submovement duration, S2-S3-S4 being faster than S1 and S5. Late TMS prolonged RT only when high-intensity pulses were delivered over M1-FDI. Single- and triple-pulse TMS over M1-D or M1-FDI significantly prolonged MT with a dose-related effect. Suprathreshold triple-pulse TMS over the PM-but not over the SMA-also lengthened the MT but did not change RT. Early triple-pulse TMS reduced the RT independently from the stimulus intensity and scalp site. SMA and PM-but not M1-D-stimulation also reduced the MT. Single-pulse TMS over the SMA, despite being delivered through a double-cone coil, did not change RT or MT. CONCLUSIONS: TMS-induced changes in the kinematics of a sequential arm movement depend closely on the timing of TMS interference, the scalp site stimulated, and the intensity (and number) of stimuli delivered. Late TMS interference inhibits, whereas early interference facilitates, motor performance. The cortical motor region most sensitive to TMS-induced inhibition is that below the scalp site for M1-FDI. In contrast, TMS-induced facilitation has no strict topographic organization. Particularly for MT (although inhibitory and facilitatory effects both depend on stimulation at high intensities) intensity is less crucial than timing of interference and scalp site.

Adult↗