Neck Muscle Vibration Alters Cerebellar Processing Associated with Motor Skill Acquisition of a Proprioceptive-Based Task

Experimentally induced neck fatigue and neck pain have been shown to impact cortico-cerebellar processing and sensorimotor integration, assessed using a motor learning paradigm. Vibration specifically impacts muscle spindle feedback, yet it is unknown whether transient alterations in neck sensory input from vibration impact these neural processing changes following the acquisition of a proprioceptive-based task. Twenty-five right-handed participants had electrical stimulation over the right median nerve to elicit short- and middle-latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) pre- and post-acquisition of a force matching tracking task. Following the pre-acquisition phase, controls (CONT, n = 13, 6 F) received 10 min of rest and the vibration group (VIB, n = 12, 6 F) received 10 min of 60 Hz vibration on the right sternocleidomastoid and left cervical extensors. Task performance was measured 24 h later to assess retention. Significant time by group interactions occurred for the N18 SEP peak, 21.77% decrease in VIB compared to 58.74% increase in CONT (F((1,23)) = 6.475, p = 0.018, n(p)(2) = 0.220), and the N24 SEP peak, 16.31% increase in VIB compared to 14.05% decrease in CONT (F((1,23)) = 5.787, p = 0.025, n(p)(2) = 0.201). Both groups demonstrated improvements in motor performance post-acquisition (F((1,23)) = 52.812, p < 0.001, n(p)(2) = 0.697) and at retention (F((1,23)) = 35.546, p < 0.001, n(p)(2) = 0.607). Group-dependent changes in the SEP peaks associated with cerebellar input (N18) and cerebellar processing (N24) suggests that an altered proprioceptive input from neck vibration impacts cerebellar pathways.