Frontal brain areas are more involved during motor imagery than during motor execution/preparation of a response sequence

Introduction. Sensorimotor cortex is activated similarly during motor execution and motor imagery. The study of functional connectivity networks (FCNs) aims at successfully modeling the dynamics of information flow between cortical areas.Materials and Methods. Seven healthy subjects performed 4 motor tasks (real foot, imaginary foot, real hand, and imaginary hand movements), while electroencephalography was recorded over the sensorimotor cortex. Event-Related Desynchronization/Synchronization (ERD/ERS) of the mu-rhythm was used to evaluate MI performance. Source detection and FCNs were studied with eConnectome.Results and Discussion. Four subjects produced similar ERD/ERS patterns between motor execution and imagery during both hand and foot tasks, 2 subjects only during hand tasks, and 1 subject only during foot tasks. All subjects showed the expected brain activation in well-performed MI tasks, facilitating cortical source estimation. Preliminary functional connectivity analysis shows formation of networks on the sensorimotor cortex during motor imagery and execution.Conclusions. Cortex activation maps depict sensorimotor cortex activation, while similar functional connectivity networks are formed in the sensorimotor cortex both during actual and imaginary movements. eConnectome is demonstrated as an effective tool for the study of cortex activation and FCN. The implementation of FCN in motor imagery could induce promising advancements in Brain Computer Interfaces.

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EEG activity under different speeds and prompt types in motor imagery and motor execution

10.1109/m2vip49856.2021.9665166 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yidan Ding ◽

Peiyuan Xie ◽

Songwei Li ◽

Jianjun Meng

Keyword(s):

Motor Imagery ◽

Motor Execution ◽

Eeg Activity

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Lower [18F]fallypride binding to dopamine D2/3 receptors in frontal brain areas in adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: a positron emission tomography study

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s003329171900062x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 50 (5) ◽

pp. 799-807 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Esther D. A. van Duin ◽

Jenny Ceccarini ◽

Jan Booij ◽

Zuzana Kasanova ◽

Claudia Vingerhoets ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Receptor Binding ◽

Cognitive Impairments ◽

22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Deletion Syndrome ◽

Cingulate Gyrus ◽

Anterior Cingulate Gyrus ◽

22Q11.2 Deletion ◽

Brain Areas ◽

Frontal Brain

AbstractBackgroundThe 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is caused by a deletion on chromosome 22 locus q11.2. This copy number variant results in haplo-insufficiency of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, and is associated with a significant increase in the risk for developing cognitive impairments and psychosis. The COMT gene encodes an enzyme that primarily modulates clearance of dopamine (DA) from the synaptic cleft, especially in the prefrontal cortical areas. Consequently, extracellular DA levels may be increased in prefrontal brain areas in 22q11DS, which may underlie the well-documented susceptibility for cognitive impairments and psychosis in affected individuals. This study aims to examine DA D2/3 receptor binding in frontal brain regions in adults with 22q11DS, as a proxy of frontal DA levels.MethodsThe study was performed in 14 non-psychotic, relatively high functioning adults with 22q11DS and 16 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs), who underwent DA D2/3 receptor [18F]fallypride PET imaging. Frontal binding potential (BPND) was used as the main outcome measure.ResultsBPND was significantly lower in adults with 22q11DS compared with HCs in the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus. After Bonferroni correction significance remained for the anterior cingulate gyrus. There were no between-group differences in BPND in the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex.ConclusionsThis study is the first to demonstrate lower frontal D2/3 receptor binding in adults with 22q11DS. It suggests that a 22q11.2 deletion affects frontal dopaminergic neurotransmission.

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