Upper limb control depends on accurate internal models of limb position relative to the head and neck, accurate sensory inputs, and accurate cortical processing. Transient alterations in neck afferent feedback induced by muscle vibration may impact upper limb proprioception. This research aimed to determine the effects of neck muscle vibration on upper limb proprioception using a novel elbow repositioning task (ERT). 26 right-handed participants aged 22.21 ± 2.64 performed the ERT consisting of three target angles between 80–90° (T1), 90–100° (T2) and 100–110° (T3). Controls (CONT) (n = 13, 6F) received 10 min of rest and the vibration group (VIB) (n = 13, 6F) received 10 min of 60 Hz vibration over the right sternocleidomastoid and left cervical extensor muscles. Task performance was reassessed following experimental manipulation. Significant time by group interactions occurred for T1: (F1,24 = 25.330, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.513) where CONT improved by 26.08% and VIB worsened by 134.27%, T2: (F1,24 = 16.157, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.402) where CONT improved by 20.39% and VIB worsened by 109.54%, and T3: (F1,24 = 21.923, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.447) where CONT improved by 37.11% and VIB worsened by 54.39%. Improvements in repositioning accuracy indicates improved proprioceptive ability with practice in controls. Decreased accuracy following vibration suggests that vibration altered proprioceptive inputs used to construct body schema, leading to inaccurate joint position sense and the observed changes in elbow repositioning accuracy.

Long term changes in neck sensory feedback in those with neck pain impacts motor learning, proprioception, and cortical processing. However, it is unclear whether transient alterations in neck sensory input from vibration impact sensorimotor integration (SMI) and somatosensory processing following acquisition of a proprioceptive-based task. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of neck muscle vibration on SMI and motor learning. 25 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, 6F) received 10 minutes of rest and the vibration group (VIB) (n = 12, 6F) received 10 minutes of 60Hz vibration on the right sternocleidomastoid and left cervical extensors. Task performance was measured 24 hours later to assess retention. Significant time by group interactions occurred for the N18 SEP peak (F (1, 23) = 6.475, p = 0.018, np2 = 0.220): where amplitudes increased by 58.74% in CONT and decreased by 21.77% in VIB and the N24 SEP Peak (F (1, 23) = 5.787, p = 0.025, np2 = 0.201): decreased by 14.05% in CONT and increased by 16.31% in VIB. Both groups demonstrated improvements in motor performance post-acquisition (F (1, 23) = 52.812, p < 0.001, np2 = 0.697) and at retention (F (1, 23) = 35.546, p < 0.001, np2 = 0.607). Group dependent changes in SEP peaks associated with cerebellar processing (N18 and N24) occurred post-acquisition suggesting differences in cerebellar-somatosensory pathways. This suggests that vibration altered proprioceptive inputs used to construct body schema.

Upper limb control depends on accurate internal models of limb position relative to the head and neck, accurate sensory inputs, and accurate cortical processing. Transient alterations in neck afferent feedback induced by muscle vibration may impact upper limb proprioception. This research aimed to determine the effects of neck muscle vibration on upper limb proprioception using a novel elbow repositioning task (ERT). 26 right-handed participants aged 22.21 2.64 performed the ERT consisting of three target angles between 80-90 (T1), 90-100 (T2) and 100-110 (T3). Controls (CONT) (n=13, 6F) received 10 minutes of rest and the vibration group (VIB) (n=13, 6F) received 10 minutes of 60Hz vibration over the right sternocleidomastoid and left cervical extensor muscles. Task performance was reassessed following experimental manipulation. Significant time by group interactions occurred for T1: (F1,24 = 25.330, p &amp;lt; 0.001, p2 = 0.513) where CONT improved by 26.08% and VIB worsened by 134.27%, T2: (F1,24 = 16.157, p &amp;lt; 0.001, p2 = 0.402) where CONT improved by 20.39% and VIB worsened by 109.54%, and T3: (F1,24 = 21.923, p &amp;lt; 0.001, p2 = 0.447) where CONT improved by 37.11% and VIB worsened by 54.39%. Improvements in repositioning accuracy indicates improved proprioceptive ability with practice in controls. Decreased accuracy following vibration suggests that vibration altered proprioceptive inputs used to construct body schema, leading to inaccurate joint position sense and the observed changes in elbow repositioning accuracy.