Silent period

The cutaneous silent period (CSP) is a transient inhibition of ongoing electromyographic activity in hand muscles elicited by high-intensity electrical fingertip stimulation. Its underlying biologic function seems to be a protective reaction to nociceptive stimuli. The reflex pathway is composed of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical neurophysiology 2016-03, Vol.127 (3), p.e25-e25
Main Author: Kofler, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Neurology
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The cutaneous silent period (CSP) is a transient inhibition of ongoing electromyographic activity in hand muscles elicited by high-intensity electrical fingertip stimulation. Its underlying biologic function seems to be a protective reaction to nociceptive stimuli. The reflex pathway is composed of thin-myelinated A-delta afferents, spinal centromedullary circuitry, and thick-myelinated I-a motor efferents. Thus, evaluation of CSP may be employed to detect A-delta dysfunction in patients with axonal or demyelinating polyneuropathy. Data reviewed from the literature indicate that CSP presence, CSP duration, and CSP latencies are differentially affected by small- and large-diameter afferent and efferent fibers. Presence and number of A-delta axons seem to define CSP presence and duration, whereas CSP latencies depend on conduction properties of A-delta fibers; CSP onset latency is further “fine-tuned” by conduction function of motoneurons. CSP parameters do not differentiate between patients with and without neuropathic pain, concurring with the notion that neuropathic pain is not due to mere A-delta fiber loss.
ISSN:1388-2457
1872-8952
DOI:10.1016/j.clinph.2015.11.072