Graduate Student Seminar Series – David Koivisto

Graduate Student Seminar Series
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Location: 2nd Floor Auditorium (TRI/KITE) – 550 University Ave
Presentation Title: Investigating the Extent of Spinal Cord Involvement from Induced Central Sensitization at a Single Cervical Level
Abstract: Repeated exposure to painful stimuli leads to neuroplastic changes in the central nervous system, increasing pain sensitivity and separating pain from the original stimulus. Across chronic pain conditions, these changes are referred to as central sensitization (CS). Current identification of CS is heavily influenced by patient bias and an objective biomarker for CS is needed to refine treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of induced CS on motor units (MUs) across spinal levels through electromyography (EMG) and the sensory changes experienced by participants across dermatomes. This study aimed to recruit 24 (N=24) healthy male participants between 18-35 years of age. EMG and clinical sensory assessment measurements are taken at baseline and after the application of the heat/capsaicin model, used to induce CS. The intervention is applied to the C3/C4 spinal level, with subsequent testing at myotome and dermatome locations down to the C7 spinal level. Participants performed isometric ramp contractions of 10%, 35%, and 55% of their maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) for each muscle. An additional EMG measurement is taken from the level of intervention at 35% MVC following a brief painful stimulus. All EMG data is decomposed to evaluate firing characteristics from the same population of individual MU spike trains, identified through MU tracking. Sensory testing showed a significant difference to the control group at the C3/C4 level. Early spike train feature results display a decrease in discharge rate across most muscles groups at each MVC level. The sensory results support the use of the modality used to induce CS. EMG may have the potential to be used as a biomarker for CS but, further analysis is needed to identify,EMG differences between healthy, induced pain and CS conditions.
Supervisor Name: Dr. Dinesh Kumbhare
Year of Study: 2
Program of Study: MASc
Reschedule Reason: Updating location information
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