ASSESSING CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM FUNCTIONING IN RESTING AND NON-RESTING CONDITIONS IN A HEALTHY ADULT POPULATION: A FEASIBILITY STUDY

Abstract

Emerging research suggests that chiropractic adjustments and spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) modulate the activity of the central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS); however, robust methodologies to investigate both systems in tandem are currently lacking in this space. This feasibility study sought to test a newly developed battery which incorporates robust, evidence informed methods for neurophysiological data collection across resting and non-resting conditions. We enrolled a convenience sample of 11 adults in and around Atlanta, Georgia. Signals captured during resting and non-resting states included electroencephalography (EEG), respiration, electrocardiography (ECG), impedance cardiography (ICG), electrodermal activity (EDA), and continuous blood pressure (cBP). Primary outcomes included efficiency, compliance, tolerability, acceptability, and data quality with progression criteria based on the traffic light (i.e., red, amber, green) approach. Of the 11 subjects, 10 completed the full battery with 1 subject withdrawing due to an unanticipated adverse event. Overall, the results suggested that our battery is feasible with minor changes. Chiropractic intervention trials are currently underway exploring the feasibility of a modified version of this battery in clinical populations.