1.Effects of variable frequency temporal interference electrical fields stimulation on motor cortex excitabili-ty and motor learning performance
Jinlong YAN ; Chunyue ZHU ; Tianli FU
Chinese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 2024;39(7):971-977,983
Objective:To investigate the effects of temporal interference electrical fields(TI)on motor cortical excitabili-ty and motor learning abilities in healthy adults,in order to provide evidence for the application of TI stimula-tion in human. Method:A randomized crossover double-blind design was used with healthy adults participants.Experiment l:twenty subjects completed transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS)testing to assess changes in cortical excit-ability indicators before and after stimulation,including motor evoked potentials(MEP),resting motor thresh-old(RMT),short-interval intracortical inhibition(SICI),and intracortical facilitation(ICF).Experiment 2:sixteen subjects completed the random reaction time task(RRTT)and the serial reaction time task(SRTT),with performance indicators including average reaction time(RT),first implicit learning(FIL),and second im-plicit learning(SIL).The effects of TI stimulation on cortical excitability and motor learning abilities were evaluated using a two-factor repeated measures analysis of variance. Result:Experiment 1:there were significant interactions between stimulation condition and time on MEP(F=28.787,P<0.001,ηP2=0.602)and RMT(F=23.524,P<0.001,ηP2=0.580),while SICI and ICF showed no significant interaction effects.Experiment 2:compared to sham stimulation,FIL in SRTT was significantly im-proved after TI stimulation(F=4.601,P=0.049,ηP2=0.235),while there was no significant interaction effect in the RRTT task. Conclusion:Variable frequency TI stimulation can significantly increase cortical excitability in the primary mo-tor cortex,and this regulatory effect may contribute to enhancing motor learning performance in healthy adults.
2.Analysis of changes in connectivity of resting brain functional network before and after acupuncture combined with language rehabilitation training in patients with basal ganglia aphasia after stroke
Tianli LYU ; Jiajun MA ; Lu LIU ; Mingyang FU ; Zhongjian TAN ; Jingling CHANG ; Jingqing SUN
Journal of Chinese Physician 2023;25(9):1313-1318
Objective:To use the resting state functional network connectivity (FNC) method based on independent component analysis (ICA) to analyze the characteristics of FNC changes in patients with basal ganglia aphasia (BGA) after stroke, and to explore its occurrence and recovery mechanism under the intervention of acupuncture combined with language rehabilitation training.Methods:Using a prospective observational research method, 16 right-handed BGA patients who were treated at Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University from July 2021 to December 2022, as well as 14 healthy subjects matched in age, gender, education level, and handedness, were included. The resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging, demographic information, and Western Aphasia Examination data of healthy subjects and BGA patients before and after intervention were collected. The GIFT toolbox based on MATLAB platform was applied for ICA and resting state brain network FNC analysis. The FNC differences between BGA patients and healthy subjects were compared horizontally, and the FNC changes in BGA patients before and after intervention were compared vertically.Results:Compared with healthy subjects, post-stroke BGA patients showed decreased connectivity between the basal ganglia network, default network, and visual network before intervention, while increased connectivity between the auditory network, right frontoparietal network, and anterior cuneiform network; After the intervention of acupuncture combined with language rehabilitation training, the connectivity between the basal ganglia network, visual network, and anterior cuneiform network decreased, while the connectivity between the anterior convex network and bilateral frontoparietal network decreased, while the connectivity between the default network, auditory network, right frontoparietal network, and visual network increased. The BGA patient group showed enhanced connectivity between the basal ganglia network and the left frontoparietal network before and after intervention.Conclusions:The FNC changes between the basal ganglia network and other brain networks are key to reflecting the mechanism of BGA occurrence and language function recovery. Acupuncture combined with language rehabilitation training may improve language function by enhancing the connectivity between the basal ganglia network and the left frontoparietal network, and the redistribution of attention resources may also be one of the reasons for promoting language function recovery in BGA patients.