In recent years, noise stimulation has been utilized as an effective therapy to combat neurology diseases and cognitive impairment/proprioception. Noise stimulation is the technique of applying any form of stimulation(noise, mechanical, electrical, etc.) to the brain or sensory receptors, at unpredictable intensities throughout a given time frame, to enhance sensory, motor, or cognitive functions. Transcranial random noise stimulation, or tRNS has been shown to be effective in treating a multitude of neurological disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis.
The study titled “Effects of Noise Electrical Stimulation on Proprioception, Force Control, and Corticomuscular Functional Connectivity” by Professor Vincent Chen and colleagues explores how noise electrical stimulation influences proprioception and grip strength. In this study, 14 healthy participants underwent two experiments to assess the effects noise stimulation had on grip and proprioceptive information. The first group was tested to see if varying intensities of electrical stimulation (0%, 70%, 90%, and 100% of sensory threshold) had effects on their grip strength. The second group studied if electrical stimulation had effects on task performance after a 30-minute session at 30% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). The results suggested that 70% and 100% significantly reduced errors in grip testing, while the flexion angle showed less consistent results.
Recently a narrative review looked into a plethora of studies to provide a summary of how tRNS may be an effective therapy for neurological diseases. Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is an autoimmune demyelinating disorder where T-cells infiltrate into the CNS due to the permeabilization of the blood-brain barrier. These T-cells then go on to attack myelin, resulting in loss of “function” within these highly myelinated areas. One of the effects this loss of myelin has on the body is the loss of muscle strength or fatigue. To combat this, researchers collected a random sample of patients suffering from relapsing or remitting MS and applied electrical stimulation within the motor cortex to the most affected limb at a frequency of 640 Hz, for 2 consecutive weeks (Salemi et al., 2019). The results showed that patients muscular strength significantly increased after just a week of tRNS. Along with this, when tRNS is applied to the motor cortex in patients who suffered from ischemic strokes, along with a graded repetitive arm supplementary program, they too say a significant increase in motor capabilities when evaluated with the Fugl-Meyer assessment-upper extremity (FMA-UE). While these results are promising, more research is needed to explore the effectiveness of tRNS in combating muscle loss/weakening.
Overall, random noise stimulation has been shown in many studies to decrease muscle weakness, allowing patients who suffer from strokes, MS, or Parkinson’s, to see an increase in their quality of life. While therapeutics are important in improving the quality of life of patients suffering from disorders, I think it is rather more important to look at therapies that decipher the causes of these disorders. My understanding of the world is still very limited, due to this class though, I was able to gain more insight not only into how research is conducted, but the possibilities of what someone COULD research. Random noise stimulation, something I knew nothing about, is truly fascinating to me, and I wish more studies were showing HOW it affects signal propagation, rather than seeing the broad effects; while positive, it has within the CNS.
Works Cited
Chou, Li-Wei et al. “Effects of Noise Electrical Stimulation on Proprioception, Force Control, and Corticomuscular Functional Connectivity.” IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society vol. 31 (2023): 2518-2524. doi:10.1109/TNSRE.2023.3277752
Salemi, Giuseppe et al. “Application of tRNS to improve multiple sclerosis fatigue: a pilot, single-blind, sham-controlled study.” Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) vol. 126,6 (2019): 795-799. doi:10.1007/s00702-019-02006-y
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