Publications by authors named "Nicole M Varnerin"
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) paired with massed practice training to promote adaptive plasticity and motor recovery in chronic incomplete tetraplegia: A pilot study.
J Spinal Cord Med
September 2018
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to see if combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with rehabilitation over two weeks could enhance motor function recovery in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI).
- Conducted at the Cleveland Clinic, the research involved eight male participants with chronic incomplete motor tetraplegia, who underwent massed practice training with or without tDCS.
- Results indicated that those who received tDCS showed significantly greater improvements in muscle strength compared to a control group, suggesting the need for further clinical trials to explore this rehabilitation strategy.
Objective: The standard approach to brain stimulation in stroke is based on the premise that ipsilesional M1 (iM1) is important for motor function of the paretic upper limb, while contralesional cortices compete with iM1. Therefore, the approach typically advocates facilitating iM1 and/or inhibiting contralesional M1 (cM1). But, this approach fails to elicit much improvement in severely affected patients, who on account of extensive damage to ipsilesional pathways, cannot rely on iM1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranscranial Direct Current Stimulation Targeting Primary Motor Versus Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortices: Proof-of-Concept Study Investigating Functional Connectivity of Thalamocortical Networks Specific to Sensory-Affective Information Processing.
Brain Connect
April 2017
The pain matrix is comprised of an extensive network of brain structures involved in sensory and/or affective information processing. The thalamus is a key structure constituting the pain matrix. The thalamus serves as a relay center receiving information from multiple ascending pathways and relating information to and from multiple cortical areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recruitment curves (RCs) acquired using transcranial magnetic stimulation are commonly used in stroke to study physiologic functioning of corticospinal tracts (CST) from M1. However, it is unclear whether CSTs from higher motor cortices contribute as well.
Objective: To explore whether integrity of CST from higher motor areas, besides M1, relates to CST functioning captured using RCs.
Objective: Reproducibility of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) metrics is essential in accurately tracking recovery and disease. However, majority of evidence pertains to reproducibility of metrics for distal upper limb muscles. We investigate for the first time, reliability of corticospinal physiology for a large proximal muscle - the biceps brachii and relate how varying statistical analyses can influence interpretations.
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