Acute effects of muscle vibration on sensorimotor integration

•Sensorimotor integration was investigated before and after a vibration intervention.•Transcranial magnetic stimulation was conditioned by afferent inputs.•Responders and non-responders were identified.•Responders were characterized by decreased inhibition and increased facilitation. Projections from the somesthetic cortex are believed to be involved in the modulation of motor cortical excitability by muscle vibration. The aim of the present pilot study was to analyse the effects of a vibration intervention on short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI), long-latency afferent inhibition (LAI), and afferent facilitation (AF), three intracortical mechanisms reflecting sensorimotor integration. Abductor pollicis brevis (APB) SAI, AF and LAI were investigated on 10 subjects by conditioning test transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses with median nerve electrical stimulation at inter-stimuli intervals in the range 15–25ms, 25–60ms, and 100–200ms, respectively. Test motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were compared to unconditioned MEPs. Measurements were performed before and just after 15min of vibration applied to the muscle belly of APB at a frequency of 80Hz. SAI and LAI responses were significantly reduced compared to unconditioned test MEPs (P=0.039 and P