Spatial distribution of corticospinal potentials following transcranial electric and magnetic stimulation in human spinal cord

• Published in: Journal of the Neurological Sciences Vol. 151; no. 2; pp. 217 - 221
• Main Authors: Kaneko, Kazuo, Kawai, Shinya, Taguchi, Toshihiko, Fuchigami, Yasunori, Morita, Hideki, Ofuji, Akira, Yonemura, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 22.10.1997; Elsevier BV; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Central nervous system; Cerebral Cortex; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Electric Stimulation; Electromagnetic Fields; Electrophysiology; Epidural Space; Epidural Space - physiology; Evoked Potentials; Evoked Potentials - physiology; Evoked spinal cord potentials; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pyramidal tract; Pyramidal Tracts; Pyramidal Tracts - physiology; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord - physiology; Transcranial electrical stimulation corticospinal tract; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Pyramidal tract; Evoked spinal cord potentials; Transcranial electrical stimulation corticospinal tract; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Human; Spinal cord; Electrical stimulus; Central nervous system; Anterior; Electrophysiology; Corticospinal bundle; Extradural space; Transcranial route; Spatial distribution; Evoked potential; Posterior; Magnetic stimulus; Physiology; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0022-510X; 1878-5883
• DOI: 10.1016/S0022-510X(97)00135-4

To investigate the spatial distribution of the human corticospinal tract in the spinal cord, evoked spinal cord potentials (ESCPs) following transcranial electrical and magnetic stimulation were recorded simultaneously from both the anterior and posterior epidural space in five anesthetized patients. One ESCP component following transcranial electrical stimulation (D-wave) and at least two ESCP components (initially D-wave and later I-wave) following transcranial magnetic stimulation were recorded in all subjects. The negative peak latency of all the potentials recorded from the posterior epidural space was the same as that recorded anteriorly. The amplitude ratio of the ESCP following electrical stimulation (posterior/anterior) was 1.10±0.12, while that of ESCPs following magnetic stimulation was 1.08±0.12 (N1) and 1.15±0.16 (N2). These results suggest that lateral corticospinal tract descending dorsolateral fasciculus in the spinal cord is main corticospinal pathway and spatial distribution of D and I-waves are similar in the human cervical cord.