Cutaneous silent period: A literature review

Abstract

Cutaneous silent period (CSP) is the temporary suppression of voluntary muscle contraction by sensory stimulation. Here, we aimed to summarize the effect of physiological and pathological conditions on CSP and to reappraise its clinical utility in daily practice. We performed a literature search using the term “cutaneous silent period.” The search included all articles published in English in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and MEDLINE databases until October 2018. We have analyzed all articles covering CSP to collect the work on physiological conditions such as temperature, recording site, stimulus intensity, nonpharmacological interventions, and different medications or pathological conditions. Temperature, gender, recording site, stimulus duration, and stimulus intensity affect the parameters related to CSP. CSP onset latency is mainly affected by interventions affecting A-delta fibers. CSP shows changes in entrapment neuropathies and polyneuropathies. CSP is mainly mediated by A-delta fibers with contribution of large-diameter fibers. It is a spinal inhibitory response. It should be recorded under optimum temperature. Its clinical use in the diagnosis or assessment of neuropathic pain is limited. It is sometimes used to show functions of A-delta fibers.

Keywords

• a-delta fibers
• cutaneous silent period
• pathological disorders
• temperature