Clinical trial NCT06573918: EMG-Assessed Paratonia: A New Approach to Response Inhibition
Official title: EMG-Assessed Paratonia: A Novel Approach to Investigating Motor Response Inhibition in Healthy Subjects
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Healthy
Keywords: Electromyography Physical activity
Motor inhibition
Frontal circuits
Sport-specific
Lead sponsor: Universita degli Studi di Genova
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-08-27
Enrollment: 120
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 30
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Paratonia is the inability to relax muscles during the assessment of muscle tone in the absence of spasticity and parkinsonian rigidity. It can be evaluated qualitatively using clinical scales and objectively through surface electromyography (EMG-assessed paratonia). It is widely accepted that paratonia represents a manifestation of impaired motor response inhibition due to frontal lobe dysfunction.

Traditionally, motor response inhibition has been assessed using experimental protocols such as go/no-go and stop-signal tasks. Research has shown that athletes, particularly those engaged in open-skill sports, demonstrate superior motor response inhibition compared to sedentary individuals. Even amateur athletes exhibit better motor response inhibition than sedentary individuals, though to a lesser extent than professional athletes.

Given that the etiology of paratonia involves a defect in motor response inhibition, it is hypothesized that EMG-assessed paratonia could become a novel approach for evaluating motor response inhibition. The present study was designed to validate this hypothesis. Specifically, we first tested whether EMG-assessed paratonia in healthy subjects can reveal a well-known aspect of motor response inhibition, namely its correlation with the level of physical activity.

Detailed description: EMG-assessed paratonia was analyzed and compared to assess motor response efficiency in three groups of healthy young adults with different levels of physical activity: professional athletes engaged in closed and open skills sports, amateurs, and sedentary individuals. To analyze EMG-assessed paratonia, two surface electrodes were attached to the biceps and triceps brachii muscles during passive flexion-extension movements of the elbow while the participant remained in a state of maximum relaxation. Any EMG activity detected during these movements was attributed to an inability to relax, thereby reflecting their degree of paratonia.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

Sedentary Individuals: Defined as those engaging in less than 16.67 metabolic equivalent of task (MET) hours per week.

Amateur Athletes: Defined as individuals who engage in 16.67 to 25 MET hours per week.

Professional Athletes: Defined as individuals who engage in more than 25 MET hours per week.

Exclusion Criteria:

Presence of any pathology or pain in the flexor or extensor muscles of the arm. Use of muscle stimulants, relaxants, steroids, tobacco, alcohol, or any other drugs.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Neuromuscular excitation of the Biceps Brachii (paratonia assessed by EMG) during passive elbow flexion and extension
timeFrame: Throughout the duration of the evaluation, which lasts about 120 seconds
measure: Neuromuscular excitation of the Triceps Brachii (paratonia assessed by EMG) during passive elbow flexion and extension
timeFrame: Throughout the duration of the evaluation, which lasts about 120 seconds
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Genova
country: Italy
facility: Università degli Studi di Genova
Study officials:
References: