The carotid artery, which provides blood to the brain, has a reflex area known as a sinus, which helps regulate the flow of blood and oxygen to the head.
In our healthy subjects, anodal thoracic tsDCS reduced the total lower-limb flexion reflex area by 40.25% immediately after stimulation (T0) and by 46.9% 30 min after stimulation offset (T30).
Only during the bout but not outside, the CPT had no effect on TST and reflex area [159].
The reduced pre-activation explains also the reduced amplitude of early block that was found in visual [15, 22], auditory [23] and somatosensory [24] EPs but also in brainstem reflexes, where a reduced first reflex area under the curve was reported in migraineurs with respect to controls [18 20].
We recently replicated these results by using the nociception-specific concentric stimulating electrode: R2 reflex area and habituation were reduced on the affected CH side (data published in abstract form [148]). Conversely, Holle et al. (2012) failed to detect altered habituation of the nBR R2 in episodic and chronic CH within or outside a bout.
During the third week of CHC (T0), the mean RT-SS was 15.6 ± 6.6 mA, with an average area under the EMG track of 1287.9 ± 738.1 μV*mS, while during hormone free interval (T1), mean RT-SS was found to be significantly lower at 12.8 ± 8.0 mA (T1 vs T0, p = 0.02) (Fig. 1), with a tendency toward an increase in the reflex area, which however did not reach a statistically significant level (p = 0.158).
Thus, we were able to test the hypothesis in a reflex area corresponding to the same body part by assigning correct (eye reflex area) or pseudo- (shoulder reflex area) information to separate toes.
Reflexological stimulation of each foot reflex area activated the superior part of the contralateral SI hemisphere.
A second-level ANOVA revealed no significant effect of pseudo-information about the reflex area.
The experimenter continuously stimulated one reflex area in each task block.
