Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue

Background and Purpose. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is widely recognized as one of the most common symptoms and side effects of cancer and/or its treatment. However, neuropathological mechanisms contributing to CRF are largely unknown, and the lack of knowledge makes CRF difficult to treat. Recent...

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Main Authors: Changhao Jiang, Qi Yang, Tingting Chen, Vlodek Siemionow, Vinoth K. Ranganathan, Alice F. Yan, Guang H. Yue
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:Neural Plasticity
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2490750
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author Changhao Jiang
Qi Yang
Tingting Chen
Vlodek Siemionow
Vinoth K. Ranganathan
Alice F. Yan
Guang H. Yue
author_facet Changhao Jiang
Qi Yang
Tingting Chen
Vlodek Siemionow
Vinoth K. Ranganathan
Alice F. Yan
Guang H. Yue
author_sort Changhao Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Background and Purpose. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is widely recognized as one of the most common symptoms and side effects of cancer and/or its treatment. However, neuropathological mechanisms contributing to CRF are largely unknown, and the lack of knowledge makes CRF difficult to treat. Recent research has shown dissociation between changes in the brain and muscle signals during voluntary motor performance in cancer survivors with CRF, and this dissociation may be caused by an interruption in functional coupling (FC) of the two signals. The goal of this study was to assess the FC between EEG (cortical signal) and EMG (muscular signal) in individuals with CRF and compare the FC with that of healthy controls during a motor task that led to progressive muscle fatigue. Method. Eight cancer survivors with CRF and nine healthy participants sustained an isometric elbow flexion contraction (at 30% maximal level) until self-perceived exhaustion. The entire duration of the EEG and EMG recordings was divided into the first-half (less-fatigue stage) and second-half (more-fatigue stage) artifact-free epochs without overlapping. The EEG-EMG coupling (measured by coherence of the two signals) in each group and stage was computed. Coherence values at different frequencies were statistically analyzed using a repeated-measure general linear model. Results. The results demonstrated that compared to healthy controls, CRF participants sustained the contraction for a significantly shorter time and exhibited robust and significantly lower EEG-EMG coherence at the alpha (8~14 Hz) and beta (15~35 Hz) frequency bands. Both the CRF and healthy control groups exhibited significantly decreased EEG-EMG coherence from the less-fatigue to more-fatigue stages at the alpha and beta frequency bands, indicating fatigue-induced weakening of functional corticomuscular coupling. Conclusion. Impaired functional coupling between the brain and muscle signals could be a consequence of cancer and/or its treatment, and it may be one of the contributing factors to the abnormal feeling of fatigue that caused the early failure of sustaining a prolonged motor task.
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spelling doaj-art-13286ca8cb874ebea0b9d5472080bab82025-08-20T02:01:41ZengWileyNeural Plasticity2090-59041687-54432019-01-01201910.1155/2019/24907502490750Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related FatigueChanghao Jiang0Qi Yang1Tingting Chen2Vlodek Siemionow3Vinoth K. Ranganathan4Alice F. Yan5Guang H. Yue6Beijing Key Lab of Physical Fitness Evaluation and Tech Analysis, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USABeijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition & School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USASchool of Public Health, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USADepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USABackground and Purpose. Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is widely recognized as one of the most common symptoms and side effects of cancer and/or its treatment. However, neuropathological mechanisms contributing to CRF are largely unknown, and the lack of knowledge makes CRF difficult to treat. Recent research has shown dissociation between changes in the brain and muscle signals during voluntary motor performance in cancer survivors with CRF, and this dissociation may be caused by an interruption in functional coupling (FC) of the two signals. The goal of this study was to assess the FC between EEG (cortical signal) and EMG (muscular signal) in individuals with CRF and compare the FC with that of healthy controls during a motor task that led to progressive muscle fatigue. Method. Eight cancer survivors with CRF and nine healthy participants sustained an isometric elbow flexion contraction (at 30% maximal level) until self-perceived exhaustion. The entire duration of the EEG and EMG recordings was divided into the first-half (less-fatigue stage) and second-half (more-fatigue stage) artifact-free epochs without overlapping. The EEG-EMG coupling (measured by coherence of the two signals) in each group and stage was computed. Coherence values at different frequencies were statistically analyzed using a repeated-measure general linear model. Results. The results demonstrated that compared to healthy controls, CRF participants sustained the contraction for a significantly shorter time and exhibited robust and significantly lower EEG-EMG coherence at the alpha (8~14 Hz) and beta (15~35 Hz) frequency bands. Both the CRF and healthy control groups exhibited significantly decreased EEG-EMG coherence from the less-fatigue to more-fatigue stages at the alpha and beta frequency bands, indicating fatigue-induced weakening of functional corticomuscular coupling. Conclusion. Impaired functional coupling between the brain and muscle signals could be a consequence of cancer and/or its treatment, and it may be one of the contributing factors to the abnormal feeling of fatigue that caused the early failure of sustaining a prolonged motor task.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2490750
spellingShingle Changhao Jiang
Qi Yang
Tingting Chen
Vlodek Siemionow
Vinoth K. Ranganathan
Alice F. Yan
Guang H. Yue
Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue
Neural Plasticity
title Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue
title_full Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue
title_fullStr Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue
title_full_unstemmed Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue
title_short Functional Corticomuscular Signal Coupling Is Weakened during Voluntary Motor Action in Cancer-Related Fatigue
title_sort functional corticomuscular signal coupling is weakened during voluntary motor action in cancer related fatigue
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/2490750
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