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D M Halliday

Publications and source records attributed to D M Halliday.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

A review of recent applications of cross-correlation methodologies to human motor unit recording.

This article reviews some recent applications of time and frequency domain cross-correlation techniques to human motor unit recording. These techniques may be used to examine the pre-synaptic mechanisms involved in control of motoneuron activity during on-going motor tasks in man without the need for imposed and artificial perturbations of the system. In this review we examine, through several examples, areas in which insights have been gained into the basic neurophysiological processes that bring about motoneuron firing in man and illustrate how these processes are affected by central nervous system pathology. We will demonstrate that synchronization and coherence may be revealed between human motor unit discharges and give examples that support the hypothesis that these phenomena are generated by activity in a focused common corticospinal input to spinal motoneurons. Disruption of central motor pathways due to diseases of the nervous system leads to pathophysiological alterations in the activity of these pre-synaptic motoneuron inputs that can be revealed by cross-correlation analysis of motor unit discharges. The significance of these studies and outstanding questions in this field are discussed.

Electromyography↗
PubMed1997

An extended difference of coherence test for comparing and combining several independent coherence estimates: theory and application to the study of motor units and physiological tremor.

Recently there has been an increase in the use of spectral methods for the analysis of experimental data. These analytical methods allow the study of interactions between simultaneously recorded signals and are particularly suited to the study of systems displaying rhythmic behaviour. A useful parameter in this context is the coherence function which provides a bounded measure of linear association between two signals. In this report we introduce two new techniques for dealing with an arbitrary number of independent coherence estimates. The first technique provides a test to compare the coherence estimates for statistically significant differences. The second allows the original coherence estimates to be combined, or 'pooled' into a single representative estimate. These two measures, taken together, provide a powerful tool for characterising and summarising the correlations within data sets. Applications of the techniques are illustrated by analysing the interactions between single motor unit discharges and finger tremor, and between pairs of motor unit discharges in human subjects.

Humans↗
PubMed1995

Synchronization between motor cortex and spinal motoneuronal pool during the performance of a maintained motor task in man.

1. Simultaneous recordings of cortical activity, recorded as the magnetoencephalogram (MEG), and the electromyogram (EMG) of the ipsilateral and contralateral first dorsal interosseous muscles (1DI) were made during maintained voluntary contractions. 2. The MEG recorded from a localized region of the sensorimotor cortex of the dominant hemisphere was coherent with the EMG from the contralateral 1DI muscle over a limited band of frequencies. The peak coherence was confined largely within the beta range of cortical activity (13-35 Hz). Significant cortical activity at 10 Hz and 40-50 Hz was not correlated with motor output. The MEG and EMG from the ipsilateral 1DI muscle were uncorrelated at all frequencies. 3. Significant coherence between the MEG and the EMG was associated with synchronous behaviour between the MEG and EMG in the time domain. 4. The results demonstrate that synchronized cortical activity contributing to MEG activity within the beta range of frequencies during maintained voluntary contractions is coupled to motor output at frequencies of motor-unit activity associated with motor-unit synchronization. This observation provides further evidence for the involvement of cortical neurones in the generation of motor-unit synchronization. 5. We suggest that the coherence between MEG and contralateral EMG observed during maintained isometric contractions may provide an example of binding within the motor system.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The frequency content of common synaptic inputs to motoneurones studied during voluntary isometric contraction in man.

1. The discharges of pairs of individual motor units were recorded from intrinsic hand muscles in man. Single motor unit recordings were obtained either when both members of the motor unit pair were within first dorsal interosseous muscle (1DI:1DI recordings) or where one motor unit was within 1DI and the other in second dorsal interosseous muscle (1DI:2DI recordings). The pairs of motor unit spike trains were cross-correlated in the time domain and the results compared to those of coherence analysis performed on the same spike train data. Central peaks were present in the cross-intensity functions, indicating the presence of common synaptic input to the motoneurone pair. Coherence analysis of these data indicated significant association between motor unit firing in the frequency ranges 1-12 and 16-32 Hz. 2. Analysis of sequential non-overlapping segments of data recorded from individual motor unit pairs, demonstrated that both the central cross-intensity peak and coherence in the frequency bands 1-12 and 16-32 Hz were consistent features throughout a long recording. In these sequential recordings, the size of the central cross-intensity peak and the maximal value of coherence in the frequency band 16-32 Hz covaried from segment to segment. Analysis of the entire population of motor unit pairs confirmed a positive relationship between the magnitude of peak coherence and the size of the central cross-intensity peak. 3. Voluntary sinusoidal co-modulation of the firing rates of pairs of individual motor units recorded from within 1DI was found to produce significant values of coherence corresponding to the frequency of the common modulation. However, firing rate co-modulation was not found to affect either the size of the central cross-intensity peak or the maximum value of coherence in the frequency band 16-32 Hz. 4. Pairs of single motor units were recorded from within 1DI and biceps brachii muscles of healthy subjects. The number and size of the central cross-intensity peaks and coherence peaks detected were compared for the two muscles. The incidence and size of central cross-intensity peaks and the incidence and magnitude of 16-32 Hz coherence peaks were both found to be greater for 1DI recordings when compared to biceps brachii recordings. 5. Single motor unit recordings were made from the intrinsic hand muscles of a patient with severe peripheral deafferentation. Time- and frequency-domain analysis of these recordings revealed cross-intensity peaks and frequency bands of coherence similar to those seen in healthy subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Detection of weak synaptic interactions between single Ia afferent and motor-unit spike trains in the decerebrate cat.

1. Spike trains from identified single Ia afferents from soleus and lateral gastrocnemius muscles were recorded (while 'in continuity' with the spinal cord) simultaneously with single-motor-unit EMG spike trains from the same muscles in decerebrate cats. 2. A total of 143 Ia afferent-motor-unit pairs were examined for the presence of correlated activity between the Ia afferent and motor-unit and between the motor-unit and Ia afferent. Four types of correlation were identified on the basis of the cross-intensity function estimated for individual Ia afferent-motor-unit pairs. These correlations were attributed to the absence or presence of a central Ia afferent-motoneurone interaction or a peripheral motor-unit-muscle spindle interaction. 3. In addition to the cross-correlation-based second-order cross-intensity function, third-order cumulants were defined and used further to investigate Ia afferent-motor-unit interactions. A third-order cumulant density-based approach to signal processing offers improved signal-to-noise ratios, compared with the traditional product density approach, for parameters characterizing certain kinds of linear processes as well as a description of non-linear interactions. Two classes of third-order relations were described. One class was associated with a strong central connection and the other with a weak central connection. 4. Third-order cumulants estimated for Ia afferent-motor-unit pairs with significant second-order central correlations were able to detect a period of decreased motoneuronal excitability. In addition, temporal summation prior to spike initiation could be identified in cases where the afferent discharge was suitably high. 5. Third-order cumulants estimated for Ia afferent-motor-unit pairs in which no significant second-order central correlation existed identified the presence of weak synaptic interactions. It is argued that these interactions result from the summation from the recorded Ia afferent discharge and other spontaneous synaptic inputs to the motoneurone. 6. The results of the second-order cross-intensity analysis of Ia afferent-motor-unit interactions, combined with those from the third-order cumulant density analysis, showed that 77% of the recorded afferents had a detectable influence on motor-unit behaviour. 7. The results of this study suggest that the third-order cumulant, based on the analysis of spike trains, will provide a useful tool for detecting synaptic interactions not found by the use of the second-order cross-correlation histogram alone, and may also be used to estimate the time course of post-spike depression in motoneurones, as well as other non-linear regions of motoneurone membrane trajectory.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1989

Fusimotor mechanisms determining the afferent output of muscle spindles.

There is both direct and indirect evidence that stretch activation occurs in the dynamic bag1 fibres of the mammalian muscle spindle and that it is responsible for maintaining the high sensitivity of primary sensory endings in stretches great enough to break the resting actomyosin bonds responsible for the short-range stiffness of muscle fibres. However the direct observations of dynamic bag1 fibre behaviour during stretching were made on damaged fibres and during very slow stretches. Preliminary results of experiments employing faster stretches of intact muscle spindles are reported here. An image processing system is being developed to automate and facilitate analysis of sarcomere movements during stretch, release and activation of intrafusal fibres. Unequivocal evidence confirming the development of stretch activation has not yet been found. Boyd (1986a) believed that static bag2 and chain fibres are controlled by separate populations of static gamma motoneurones, while accepting that there is some degree of common innervation. His evidence and the functional implications are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

A framework for the analysis of neuronal networks.

The object of this work is to consider the application of some methods of spike train analysis that are not widely known, and are concerned with the description of the interaction between spike trains and the determination of causal connections between them. The notation and terminology follow conventions established in the statistical literature. The examples given are based on in-continuity recordings of the spontaneous activity of single Ia afferents from the soleus muscle and single motor units from the same muscle. Cumulant densities are shown to be simple extensions of the traditional cross-correlation methods, and are useful in characterizing the pattern of activity in one spike train that influences that in another, and to reveal interactions between spike trains that would not be apparent from the correlation histogram alone. Parameters based on the Fourier transforms of the spike trains are shown to be useful in determining timing relations between them, and in inferring patterns of connectivity not possible by correlation methods alone.

Action Potentials↗