Characteristics of H- and M-waves recorded from rat forelimbs

The Hoffman reflex (H-reflex) is a useful tool for studying the functional aspects of the spinal cord without anesthesia and/or damage to the body. H-reflex studies are performed mainly in the hindlimbs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the characteristics of the H-reflex in the fore...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Neuroscience letters Vol. 450; no. 3; pp. 239 - 241
Main Authors:	Hosoido, Taisei, Motoyama, Sachiko, Goto, Megumi, Mori, Futoshi, Tajima, Takamitsu, Hirata, Hajime, Wada, Naomi
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 06-02-2009 Elsevier
Subjects:	Action Potentials - physiology Anesthesia Animals Biological and medical sciences Efferent Pathways - physiology Electric Stimulation Female Forelimb Forelimb - innervation Forelimb - physiology Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Gait - physiology H-reflex H-Reflex - physiology Hindlimb Hindlimb - innervation Hindlimb - physiology Locomotion - physiology Male Motor Neurons - physiology Muscle Contraction - physiology Muscle, Skeletal - innervation Muscle, Skeletal - physiology Nerve Net - physiology Neural Pathways - physiology Peripheral Nerves - physiology Presynaptic inhibition Rats Rats, Wistar Spinal Cord - physiology Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs Rats Presynaptic inhibition Hindlimb H-reflex Forelimb Vertebrata Mammalia Rat Animal Rodentia Lower limb H-Reflex Upper limb
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Summary:	The Hoffman reflex (H-reflex) is a useful tool for studying the functional aspects of the spinal cord without anesthesia and/or damage to the body. H-reflex studies are performed mainly in the hindlimbs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the characteristics of the H-reflex in the forelimbs and hindlimbs in rats anesthetized with ketamine–HCl. H- and M-waves were recorded from the interosseous muscles after electrical stimulation of the n. lateral plantar of the hindlimb and n. medialis of the forelimb. Hmax/Mmax values were significantly smaller in the forelimbs than in the hindlimbs. Furthermore, paired-pulse attenuation tended to be stronger in the forelimbs than in the hindlimbs. These findings suggest that control by descending and/or propriospinal pathways is stronger in the forelimbs than in the hindlimbs in rats.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0304-3940 1872-7972
DOI:	10.1016/j.neulet.2008.11.045