Abstract
BackgroundWater immersion therapy is used to treat a variety of cardiovascular, respiratory, and orthopedic conditions. It can also benefit some neurological patients, although little is known about the effects of water immersion on neural activity, including somatosensory processing. To this end, we examined the effect of water immersion on short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) elicited by median nerve stimuli. Short-latency SEP recordings were obtained for ten healthy male volunteers at rest in or out of water at 30°C. Recordings were obtained from nine scalp electrodes according to the 10-20 system. The right median nerve at the wrist was electrically stimulated with the stimulus duration of 0.2 ms at 3 Hz. The intensity of the stimulus was fixed at approximately three times the sensory threshold.ResultsWater immersion significantly reduced the amplitudes of the short-latency SEP components P25 and P45 measured from electrodes over the parietal region and the P45 measured by central region.ConclusionsWater immersion reduced short-latency SEP components known to originate in several cortical areas. Attenuation of short-latency SEPs suggests that water immersion influences the cortical processing of somatosensory inputs. Modulation of cortical processing may contribute to the beneficial effects of aquatic therapy.Trial RegistrationUMIN-CTR (UMIN000006492)
Highlights
Water immersion therapy is used to treat a variety of cardiovascular, respiratory, and orthopedic conditions
It appears that somatosensory inputs evoked by water immersion, such as the tactile sense of water and hydrostatic pressure, may affect the short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) generated in areas 3b and 1
Each SEP component was identified by unique latency, polarity, and scalp distribution and each was consistently recorded in all subjects
Summary
Water immersion therapy is used to treat a variety of cardiovascular, respiratory, and orthopedic conditions It can benefit some neurological patients, little is known about the effects of water immersion on neural activity, including somatosensory processing. To this end, we examined the effect of water immersion on short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) elicited by median nerve stimuli. Jones et al [8] showed that short-latency SEPs generated in somatosensory cortical areas 3b and 1 were attenuated by interfering tactile stimuli and cutaneous pressure [8] Based on these studies, it appears that somatosensory inputs evoked by water immersion, such as the tactile sense of water and hydrostatic pressure, may affect the short-latency SEPs generated in areas 3b and 1
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
