Vibratory Stimulation: Part I. Neurophysiology of Motor Responses Evoked by Vibratory Stimulation

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Abstract
Vibratory stimulation of skeletal muscle produces reflex effects which promise to become useful in the evaluation and treatment of motor disorders. This paper reviews results of numerous studies in which responses of normal muscles to vibratory stimulation have been analyzed. Vibration, by exciting selectively the primary endings of muscle spindles, evokes asynchronous, slowly augmenting activity in the vibrated muscle known as the tonic vibration reflex or TVR. Although a stretch reflex and the TVR share the same afferent fibers, the TVR requires support from supraspinal regions of the central nervous system (CNS). Normal individuals can voluntarily inhibit or augment a TVR. Among factors influencing the strength of a TVR are the position of the vibrator, the initial length of the muscle, CNS excitability, and the frequency and amplitude of the vibratory stimulus. The neural mechanisms by which these factors exert their effects are discussed.

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