CORTICOSPINAL CONDUCTION STUDIED WITH MAGNETIC DOUBLE STIMULATION IN THE INTACT HUMAN

A group of 8 healthy normal subjects (24-36 years old, mean age 29 years) were investigated. Transcranial magnetic double stimulation of the motor cortex was carried out at different interstimulus intervals. With both stimuli suprathreshold, an attenuation of the test response was found at interstimulus intervals of less than 200 msec (target relaxed or contracted). The manifestation of this attenuation correlated with central signs in 31 patients with multiple sclerosis. This phenomenon is (at least at longer intervals) probably not a result of the refractory spinal motoneuron pool, but of a supraspinal inhibitory mechanism or lack of corticospinal drive caused otherwise. At interstimulus intervals between 10 and 30 msec, the test response increases significantly (magnetic double stimulation 10% suprathreshold, target relaxed). This result is also seen with voluntary muscle contraction and with vibration applied to a relaxed target muscle. The facilitatory effect is probably caused by slowly conducted corticospinal volleys enabling summation, with descending impulses generated by the test stimulus. With the conditioning stimulus subthreshold and target muscle relaxed an intracortical inhibition of the test response could be confirmed at short interstimulus intervals.