Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function

Reciprocal inhibition is often diminished in elderly individuals and those with upper motor neuron disorders. This reduction in reciprocal inhibition can hinder smooth joint movement. For subjects who have increased muscle tone and a limited range of motion in the joints, we focused on visual kinest...

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Main Authors: Takeru Okouchi, Ryo Hirabayashi, Nao Sugai, Hirotake Yokota, Chie Sekine, Tomonobu Ishigaki, Makoto Komiya, Kodai Sakamoto, Mutsuaki Edama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/24/11725
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author Takeru Okouchi
Ryo Hirabayashi
Nao Sugai
Hirotake Yokota
Chie Sekine
Tomonobu Ishigaki
Makoto Komiya
Kodai Sakamoto
Mutsuaki Edama
author_facet Takeru Okouchi
Ryo Hirabayashi
Nao Sugai
Hirotake Yokota
Chie Sekine
Tomonobu Ishigaki
Makoto Komiya
Kodai Sakamoto
Mutsuaki Edama
author_sort Takeru Okouchi
collection DOAJ
description Reciprocal inhibition is often diminished in elderly individuals and those with upper motor neuron disorders. This reduction in reciprocal inhibition can hinder smooth joint movement. For subjects who have increased muscle tone and a limited range of motion in the joints, we focused on visual kinesthetic illusions as an intervention to increase reciprocal inhibition. We aimed to investigate the effects of visual kinesthetic illusions on reciprocal inhibition and motor function in the ankle joint. Participants participated in two experiments measuring reciprocal inhibition, namely reciprocal Ia inhibition and D1 inhibition, as well as motor functions related to ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion. Visual kinesthetic illusion was induced by displaying an image of each subject’s foot on a monitor. Our results showed that the visual kinesthetic illusion enhanced D1 inhibition and improved motor function in the ankle joint by prioritizing agonist muscle activity. We also observed a correlation between reciprocal inhibition and the muscle activity ratio. These findings suggest that visual kinesthetic illusions may improve motor function by increasing reciprocal inhibition. This study is the first to demonstrate the effects of visual kinesthetic illusion on reciprocal inhibition, and we believe that these findings can be applied in rehabilitation.
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spelling doaj-art-42eab12d3b5942e79012cebd544bcfbd2025-08-20T02:55:54ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-12-0114241172510.3390/app142411725Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor FunctionTakeru Okouchi0Ryo Hirabayashi1Nao Sugai2Hirotake Yokota3Chie Sekine4Tomonobu Ishigaki5Makoto Komiya6Kodai Sakamoto7Mutsuaki Edama8Institute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanInstitute for Human Movement and Medical Sciences, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata 950-3198, JapanReciprocal inhibition is often diminished in elderly individuals and those with upper motor neuron disorders. This reduction in reciprocal inhibition can hinder smooth joint movement. For subjects who have increased muscle tone and a limited range of motion in the joints, we focused on visual kinesthetic illusions as an intervention to increase reciprocal inhibition. We aimed to investigate the effects of visual kinesthetic illusions on reciprocal inhibition and motor function in the ankle joint. Participants participated in two experiments measuring reciprocal inhibition, namely reciprocal Ia inhibition and D1 inhibition, as well as motor functions related to ankle dorsiflexion and plantar flexion. Visual kinesthetic illusion was induced by displaying an image of each subject’s foot on a monitor. Our results showed that the visual kinesthetic illusion enhanced D1 inhibition and improved motor function in the ankle joint by prioritizing agonist muscle activity. We also observed a correlation between reciprocal inhibition and the muscle activity ratio. These findings suggest that visual kinesthetic illusions may improve motor function by increasing reciprocal inhibition. This study is the first to demonstrate the effects of visual kinesthetic illusion on reciprocal inhibition, and we believe that these findings can be applied in rehabilitation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/24/11725H-reflexelectrical stimulationjoint movementillusionankle jointM wave
spellingShingle Takeru Okouchi
Ryo Hirabayashi
Nao Sugai
Hirotake Yokota
Chie Sekine
Tomonobu Ishigaki
Makoto Komiya
Kodai Sakamoto
Mutsuaki Edama
Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function
Applied Sciences
H-reflex
electrical stimulation
joint movement
illusion
ankle joint
M wave
title Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function
title_full Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function
title_fullStr Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function
title_full_unstemmed Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function
title_short Impact of Visual Kinesthetic Illusions on Reciprocal Inhibition and Motor Function
title_sort impact of visual kinesthetic illusions on reciprocal inhibition and motor function
topic H-reflex
electrical stimulation
joint movement
illusion
ankle joint
M wave
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/24/11725
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