Assessment of corticospinal excitability during synchronous and asynchronous arm cycling

Ogolo, Jirho A. (2023) Assessment of corticospinal excitability during synchronous and asynchronous arm cycling. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (2MB)

Abstract

Arm cycling is a rhythmic locomotor output which has a wide range of use both in clinical and for research purposes. In most cases, asynchronous arm cycling mode is usually used. In recent researches, there are direct and indirect evidences to show that arm cycling, like other forms of human locomotor output, is produced by supraspinal inputs, spinally located specialized set of neurons called the central pattern generators (CPGs) and somatosensory inputs. The excitability of the corticospinal tract during arm cycling has been investigated when there are changes in cadence and load, but none has investigated corticospinal excitability during asynchronous and synchronous arm cycling. Given that corticospinal excitability has been shown to be task dependent, there is possibility that neural control mechanisms during asynchronous arm cycling might not be the same during synchronous arm cycling. Also, previous experimental researches done in rhythmic non-locomotor output have hinted that rhythmic movement might be biased towards the synchronous mode as cadence or frequency of movement increases. Hence, the primary aim of this research is to investigate changes in corticospinal excitability during asynchronous and synchronous arm cycling at different cycling cadences.

Actions (login required)

View Item