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

NCT ID: NCT06936579

Last Updated: 2025-04-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 31 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-05-20
• Study Completion Date: 2025-07-30

Brief Summary

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.

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.

Conditions

Healthy Subjects

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Condition without proprioceptive stimulation:

Participants will not receive the stimulus, and MEP activity will be recorded under the same motor cortex stimulation conditions.

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

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.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

proprioceptive stimulation

Intervention Type: DEVICE

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.

Condition with proprioceptive stimulation 2

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

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

proprioceptive stimulation

Intervention Type: DEVICE

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.

Interventions

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.

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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)

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 80 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Facultat de ciencies de la Salut Universitat Ramon Llull

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Pedro Victor López Plaza

Principal Investigator,

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Pedro Victor López Plaza

Barcelona, , Spain

Countries

Spain

Central Contacts

Pedro V López Plaza

Role: CONTACT

pedrovictorlp@gmail.com

932 53 32 56

Facility Contacts

Pedro V López

Role: primary

pedrovictorlp@blanuqerna.url.edu

932 53 32 56

Other Identifiers

2025-04-07

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id