Contralateral motor cortex EEG mirror neuron activity to watching motor behavior

Martin, Ruth E., Gregory M. Murray, Pentti Kemppainen, Yuji Masuda, and Barry J. Sessle. Functional properties of neurons in the primate tongue primary motor cortex during swallowing. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1516–1530, 1997. Recent studies conducted in our laboratory have suggested that the tongue primary motor cortex (i.e., tongue-MI) plays a critical role in the control of voluntary tongue movements in the primate. However, the possible involvement of tongue-MI in semiautomatic tongue movements, such as those in swallowing, remains unkown. Therefore the present study was undertakein in attempts to address whether tongue-MI plays a role in the semiautomatic tongue movements produced during swallowing. Extracellular single neuron recordings were obtained from tongue-MI, defined by intracortical microstimulation (ICMS), in two awake monkeys as they performed three types of swallowing (swallowing of a juice reward after successful tongue task performance, nontask-related swallowing of a liquid bolus, and nontask-related swallowing of a solid bolus) as well as a trained tongue-protrusion task. Electromyographic activity was recorded simultaneously from various orofacial and laryngeal muscles. In addition, the afferent input to each tongue-MI neuron and ICMS-evoked motor output characteristics at each neuronal recording site were determined. Neurons were considered to show swallow and/or tongue-protrusion task-related activity if a statistically significant difference in firing rate was seen in association with these behaviors compared with that observed during a control pretrial period. Of a total of 80 neurons recorded along 40 microelectrode penetrations in the ICMS-defined tongue-MI, 69% showed significant alterations of activity in relation to the swallowing of a juice reward, whereas 66% exhibited significant modulations of firing in association with performance of the trained tongue-protrusion task. Moreover, 48% showed significant alterations of firing in relation to both swallowing and the tongue-protrusion task. These findings suggest that the region of cortex involved in swallowing includes MI and that tongue-MI may play a role in the regulation of semiautomatic tongue movement, in addition to trained motor behavior. Swallow-related tongue-MI neurons exhibited a variety of swallow-related activity patterns and were distributed throughout the ICMS-defined tongue-MI at sites where ICMS evoked a variety of types of tongue movements. These findings are consistent with the view that multiple efferent zones for the production of tongue movements are activated in swallowing. Many swallow-related tongue-MI neurons had an orofacial mechanoreceptive field, particularly on the tongue dorsum, supporting the view that afferent inputs may be involved in the regulation of the swallowing synergy.

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Interaction Between Finger Opposition Movements and Aftereffects of 1Hz-rTMS on Ipsilateral Motor Cortex

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.90428.2008 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 101 (3) ◽

pp. 1690-1694 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Laura Avanzino ◽

Marco Bove ◽

Andrea Tacchino ◽

Carlo Trompetto ◽

Carla Ogliastro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Voluntary Movement ◽

Motor Behavior ◽

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Motor Task ◽

The Other ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Opposition Movements

One-hertz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (1Hz-rTMS) over ipsilateral motor cortex is able to modify up to 30 min the motor performance of repetitive finger opposition movements paced with a metronome at 2 Hz. We investigated whether the long-lasting rTMS effect on motor behavior can be modulated by subsequent engagement of the contralateral sensorimotor system. Motor task was performed in different experimental conditions: immediately after rTMS, 30 min after rTMS, or when real rTMS was substituted with sham rTMS. Subjects performing the motor task immediately after rTMS showed modifications in motor behavior ≤30 min after rTMS. On the other hand, when real rTMS was substituted with sham stimulation or when subjects performed the motor task 30 min after the rTMS session, the effect was no longer present. These findings suggest that the combination of ipsilateral 1Hz-rTMS and voluntary movement is crucial to endure the effect of rTMS on the movement itself, probably acting on synaptic plasticity-like mechanism. This finding might provide some useful hints for neurorehabilitation protocols.

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Mirror neuron activity during contagious yawning—an fMRI study

Brain Imaging and Behavior ◽

10.1007/s11682-012-9189-9 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 28-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Helene Haker ◽

Wolfram Kawohl ◽

Uwe Herwig ◽

Wulf Rössler

Keyword(s):

Mirror Neuron ◽

Neuron Activity ◽

Contagious Yawning ◽

Fmri Study

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Different phase delays of peripheral input to primate motor cortex and spinal cord promote cancellation at physiological tremor frequencies

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00935.2012 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 111 (10) ◽

pp. 2001-2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Saša Koželj ◽

Stuart N. Baker

Keyword(s):

Spinal Cord ◽

Motor Cortex ◽

Motor Behavior ◽

Cervical Spinal Cord ◽

Late Response ◽

Physiological Tremor ◽

Phase Cancellation ◽

Overall Stability ◽

Response Onset ◽

Frequency Relationship

Neurons in the spinal cord and motor cortex (M1) are partially phase-locked to cycles of physiological tremor, but with opposite phases. Convergence of spinal and cortical activity onto motoneurons may thus produce phase cancellation and a reduction in tremor amplitude. The mechanisms underlying this phase difference are unknown. We investigated coherence between spinal and M1 activity with sensory input. In two anesthetized monkeys, we electrically stimulated the medial, ulnar, deep radial, and superficial radial nerves; stimuli were timed as independent Poisson processes (rate 10 Hz). Single units were recorded from M1 (147 cells) or cervical spinal cord (61 cells). Ninety M1 cells were antidromically identified as pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs); M1 neurons were additionally classified according to M1 subdivision (rostral/caudal, M1r/c). Spike-stimulus coherence analysis revealed significant coupling over a broad range of frequencies, with the strongest coherence at <50 Hz. Delays implied by the slope of the coherence phase-frequency relationship were greater than the response onset latency, reflecting the importance of late response components for the transmission of oscillatory inputs. The spike-stimulus coherence phase over the 6–13 Hz physiological tremor band differed significantly between M1 and spinal cells (phase differences relative to the cord of 2.72 ± 0.29 and 1.72 ± 0.37 radians for PTNs from M1c and M1r, respectively). We conclude that different phases of the response to peripheral input could partially underlie antiphase M1 and spinal cord activity during motor behavior. The coordinated action of spinal and cortical feedback will act to reduce tremulous oscillations, possibly improving the overall stability and precision of motor control.

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Protective role of mirtazapine in adult female Mecp2+/− mice and patients with Rett syndrome

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

10.1186/s11689-020-09328-z ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Javier Flores Gutiérrez ◽

Claudio De Felice ◽

Giulia Natali ◽

Silvia Leoncini ◽

Cinzia Signorini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Motor Learning ◽

Disease Progression ◽

Rett Syndrome ◽

Adult Female ◽

Primary Motor Cortex ◽

Barrel Cortex ◽

Motor Behavior ◽

Clinical Severity ◽

Long Term Treatment

Abstract Background Rett syndrome (RTT), an X-linked neurodevelopmental rare disease mainly caused by MECP2-gene mutations, is a prototypic intellectual disability disorder. Reversibility of RTT-like phenotypes in an adult mouse model lacking the Mecp2-gene has given hope of treating the disease at any age. However, adult RTT patients still urge for new treatments. Given the relationship between RTT and monoamine deficiency, we investigated mirtazapine (MTZ), a noradrenergic and specific-serotonergic antidepressant, as a potential treatment. Methods Adult heterozygous-Mecp2 (HET) female mice (6-months old) were treated for 30 days with 10 mg/kg MTZ and assessed for general health, motor skills, motor learning, and anxiety. Motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, and amygdala were analyzed for parvalbumin expression. Eighty RTT adult female patients harboring a pathogenic MECP2 mutation were randomly assigned to treatment to MTZ for insomnia and mood disorders (mean age = 23.1 ± 7.5 years, range = 16–47 years; mean MTZ-treatment duration = 1.64 ± 1.0 years, range = 0.08–5.0 years). Rett clinical severity scale (RCSS) and motor behavior assessment scale (MBAS) were retrospectively analyzed. Results In HET mice, MTZ preserved motor learning from deterioration and normalized parvalbumin levels in the primary motor cortex. Moreover, MTZ rescued the aberrant open-arm preference behavior observed in HET mice in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and normalized parvalbumin expression in the barrel cortex. Since whisker clipping also abolished the EPM-related phenotype, we propose it is due to sensory hypersensitivity. In patients, MTZ slowed disease progression or induced significant improvements for 10/16 MBAS-items of the M1 social behavior area: 4/7 items of the M2 oro-facial/respiratory area and 8/14 items of the M3 motor/physical signs area. Conclusions This study provides the first evidence that long-term treatment of adult female heterozygous Mecp2tm1.1Bird mice and adult Rett patients with the antidepressant mirtazapine is well tolerated and that it protects from disease progression and improves motor, sensory, and behavioral symptoms.

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Functional properties of single neurons in the face primary motor cortex of the primate. II. Relations with trained orofacial motor behavior

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1992.67.3.759 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 67 (3) ◽

pp. 759-774 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

G. M. Murray ◽

B. J. Sessle

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Cortical Neurons ◽

Primary Motor Cortex ◽

Motor Behavior ◽

Afferent Input ◽

Single Neurons ◽

Tongue Protrusion ◽

Input And Output ◽

The Face ◽

Tongue Movements

1. The previous paper has described in detail the input and output features of single neurons located at sites within primate face motor cortex from which intracortical microstimulation (ICMS, less than or equal to 20 microA) evoked tongue movements at the lowest threshold ("tongue-MI" sites); for comparative purposes, we also reported on the input and output features of a smaller number of neurons recorded at sites from which ICMS could evoke jaw movements ("jaw-MI" sites), facial movements ("face-MI" sites), or, at a few sites, tongue movements and, at the same threshold intensity, either a jaw movement or a facial movement. 2. Our findings of an extensive and diverse representation of sites within face motor cortex of monkeys for the generation of elemental components of tongue movement, and the relatively few sites from which jaw-closing movements could be evoked, were consistent with our recent observations that reversible, cooling-induced inactivation of the face motor cortex severely impaired the performance by monkeys of a tongue-protrusion task but had only relatively minor effects on the performance of a biting task. In an attempt to establish a neuronal correlate for these different behavioral relations, the present study has documented the task-related activities of those single neurons that were characterized in the previous paper in terms of afferent input and ICMS-defined output features. 3. Each task required the development and maintenance by each monkey of a fixed force level for a minimum period of time to obtain a fruit-juice reward. During one or both of these tasks, we characterized the activities of 231 single face motor cortical neurons that were located at the above-mentioned ICMS-defined sites. Neurons were said to be related to a particular task if they showed statistically significant differences in firing rates during the task in comparison with a control pretrial period (PTP). 4. In tongue-MI, there was a significantly higher proportion of neurons (63% of 156 neurons tested) that were related to the tongue-protrusion task than to the biting task (15% of 65). However, in jaw-MI the proportion of neurons that were biting task-related (63% of 19) was significantly higher than the proportion related to the tongue-protrusion task (11% of 9); the proportion of biting task-related neurons at ICMS-defined jaw-closing sites was also higher than that at jaw-opening sites.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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