S14-3. Development of a neurorehabilitation technique for elder persons using transcranial magnetic stimulation with maximum voluntary muscle contraction

Abstract

To evaluate effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with maximum voluntary muscle contraction (MVC) for serial 4 days to facilitate motor neuron function in elder persons, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and maximum pinching muscle force were recorded sequentially. Four MEPs in the first digital interossei (FDI) muscle elicited by TMS during pinching a strain-gauge transducer with MVC for 2 s were recorded before and at each 15 min interval until 1 h after starting a session (test condition). In a control condition, sham TMS was employed except that real TMS was delivered to record MEPs before and 1 h after the onset of a session. As a result, MEP amplitudes or areas and pinching muscle force were significantly increased by TMS with MVC. Pinching muscle force tended to be significantly larger before starting the sessions from the day 2 to the day 4 in the test condition compared with the control condition. Changes of MEP sizes did not significantly differ between the groups. We think that TMS with MVC for serial days has a potential to facilitate motor function in elder persons. However, we need further studies about the effect of TMS with MVC.