PMID- 25867743 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20160310 LR - 20220409 IS - 1522-1598 (Electronic) IS - 0022-3077 (Print) IS - 0022-3077 (Linking) VI - 113 IP - 10 DP - 2015 Jun 1 TI - Remote limb ischemic conditioning enhances motor learning in healthy humans. PG - 3708-19 LID - 10.1152/jn.01028.2014 [doi] AB - Brief bouts of sublethal ischemia have been shown to protect exposed tissue (ischemic conditioning) and tissues at remote sites (remote ischemic conditioning) against subsequent ischemic challenges. Given that the mechanisms of this protective phenomenon are multifactorial and epigenetic, we postulated that remote limb ischemic conditioning (RLIC) might enhance mechanisms responsible for neural plasticity, and thereby facilitate learning. Specifically, we hypothesized that conditioning of the nervous system with RLIC, achieved through brief repetitive limb ischemia prior to training, would facilitate the neurophysiological processes of learning, thus making training more effective and more long-lasting. Eighteen healthy adults participated in this study; nine were randomly allocated to RLIC and nine to sham conditioning. All subjects underwent seven consecutive weekday sessions and 2-wk and 4-wk follow-up sessions. We found that RLIC resulted in significantly greater motor learning and longer retention of motor performance gains in healthy adults. Changes in motor performance do not appear to be due to a generalized increase in muscle activation or muscle strength and were not associated with changes in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) concentration. Of note, RLIC did not enhance cognitive learning on a hippocampus-dependent task. While future research is needed to establish optimal conditioning and training parameters, this inexpensive, clinically feasible paradigm might ultimately be implemented to enhance motor learning in individuals undergoing neuromuscular rehabilitation for brain injury and other pathological conditions. CI - Copyright (c) 2015 the American Physiological Society. FAU - Cherry-Allen, Kendra M AU - Cherry-Allen KM AD - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; FAU - Gidday, Jeff M AU - Gidday JM AD - Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; FAU - Lee, Jin-Moo AU - Lee JM AD - Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; FAU - Hershey, Tamara AU - Hershey T AD - Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; and. FAU - Lang, Catherine E AU - Lang CE AD - Program in Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri langc@wustl.edu. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't DEP - 20150401 PL - United States TA - J Neurophysiol JT - Journal of neurophysiology JID - 0375404 SB - IM MH - Adolescent MH - Adult MH - Electromyography MH - Extremities/*blood supply MH - Follow-Up Studies MH - Humans MH - Ischemia/*physiopathology MH - Learning/*physiology MH - Male MH - Movement/*physiology MH - Muscle Strength/physiology MH - Reaction Time MH - Retention, Psychology/physiology MH - Young Adult PMC - PMC4468973 OTO - NOTNLM OT - behavioral training OT - motor learning OT - remote limb ischemic conditioning EDAT- 2015/04/14 06:00 MHDA- 2016/03/11 06:00 PMCR- 2016/06/01 CRDT- 2015/04/14 06:00 PHST- 2014/12/18 00:00 [received] PHST- 2015/03/27 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2015/04/14 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2015/04/14 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2016/03/11 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2016/06/01 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - jn.01028.2014 [pii] AID - JN-01028-2014 [pii] AID - 10.1152/jn.01028.2014 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Neurophysiol. 2015 Jun 1;113(10):3708-19. doi: 10.1152/jn.01028.2014. Epub 2015 Apr 1.