scholarly journals The motor cortex wants the full story: The influence of sentence context on corticospinal excitability in action language processing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Dupont ◽  
F Lebon ◽  
C Papaxanthis ◽  
C Madden-Lombardi
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Context ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
General Increase ◽  
Embodied Language ◽  
Action Language ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Motor Representations ◽  
Action Verbs

According to the embodied language framework, reading action verbs leads to a mental representation involving motor cortex activation. As sentence context has been shown to greatly influence the meaning of words, the present study aimed at better understanding its role in motor representations. We manipulated the presence of manual actions and sentence context. We hypothesized that context would serve to focus the representation of the described actions in the motor cortex, reflected in context-specific modulation of corticospinal excitability.Participants read manual action verbs and non-manual verbs, preceded by a full sentence (rich context) or not (minimal context). We assessed the level of corticospinal excitability by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses delivered at rest or shortly after verb presentation. The coil was positioned over the cortical representation of right first dorsal interosseous (pointer finger).We observed a general increase of corticospinal excitability while reading both verb types in minimal context, whereas the modulation was action-specific in rich context: corticospinal excitability increased while reading manual verbs, but did not differ from baseline for non-manual verbs. These findings suggest that the context sharpens motor representations, activating the motor cortex when relevant and eliminating any residual motor activation when no action is present.

scholarly journals Abstract Action Language Processing in Eleven-Year-Old Children: Influence of Upper Limb Movement on Sentence Comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Larissa S. Balduin-Philipps ◽  
Sabine Weiss ◽  
Franziska Schaller ◽  
Horst M. Müller
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Action Language ◽  
Semantic Plausibility ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
Decision Times

Regarding the embodiment of language processing in adults, there is evidence of a close connection between sensorimotor brain areas and brain areas relevant to the processing of action verbs. This thesis is hotly debated and has therefore been thoroughly studied in adults. However, there are still questions concerning its development in children. The present study deals with the processing of action verbs in concrete and abstract sentences in 60 eleven-year-olds using a decision time paradigm. Sixty-five children mirrored arm movements or sat still and rated the semantic plausibility of sentences. The data of the current study suggest that eleven-year-olds are likely to misunderstand the meaning of action verbs in abstract contexts. Their decision times were faster and their error rates for action verbs in concrete sentences were lower. However, the gender of the children had a significant influence on the decision time and the number of errors, especially when processing abstract sentences. Females were more likely to benefit from an arm movement before the decision, while males were better if they sat still beforehand. Overall, children made quite a few errors when assessing the plausibility of sentences, but the female participants more often gave plausibility assessments that deviated from our expectations, especially when processing abstract sentences. It can be assumed that the embodiment of language processing plays some role in 11-year-old children, but is not yet as mature as it is in adults. Especially with regard to the processing of abstract language, the embodied system still has to change and mature in the course of child development.

Motor cortex disinhibition in normal-pressure hydrocephalus

2012 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei V. Chistyakov ◽  
Hava Hafner ◽  
Alon Sinai ◽  
Boris Kaplan ◽  
Menashe Zaaroor
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Motor Evoked Potential ◽  
Normal Pressure ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Conduction Time ◽  
Shunt Placement ◽  
Resting Motor Threshold

Object Previous studies have shown a close association between frontal lobe dysfunction and gait disturbance in idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH). A possible mechanism linking these impairments could be a modulation of corticospinal excitability. The aim of this study was 2-fold: 1) to determine whether iNPH affects corticospinal excitability; and 2) to evaluate changes in corticospinal excitability following ventricular shunt placement in relation to clinical outcome. Methods Twenty-three patients with iNPH were examined using single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation of the leg motor area before and 1 month after ventricular shunt surgery. The parameters of corticospinal excitability assessed were the resting motor threshold (rMT), motor evoked potential/M-wave area ratio, central motor conduction time, intracortical facilitation, and short intracortical inhibition (SICI). The results were compared with those obtained in 8 age-matched, healthy volunteers, 19 younger healthy volunteers, and 9 age-matched patients with peripheral neuropathy. Results Significant reduction of the SICI associated with a decrease of the rMT was observed in patients with iNPH at baseline evaluation. Ventricular shunt placement resulted in significant enhancement of the SICI and increase of the rMT in patients who markedly improved, but not in those who failed to improve. Conclusions This study demonstrates that iNPH affects corticospinal excitability, causing disinhibition of the motor cortex. Recovery of corticospinal excitability following ventricular shunt placement is correlated with clinical improvement. These findings support the view that reduced control of motor output, rather than impairment of central motor conduction, is responsible for gait disturbances in patients with iNPH.

scholarly journals Individualization of tDCS intensity according to corticospinal excitability does not improve stimulation efficacy over the primary motor cortex

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 100028
Author(s):  
Etienne Sallard ◽  
Jaimie Lee Rohrbach ◽  
Catherine Brandner ◽  
Nicolas Place ◽  
Jérôme Barral
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability

Long-lasting increase in corticospinal excitability after 1800 pulses of subthreshold 5 Hz repetitive TMS to the primary motor cortex

2004 ◽  
Vol 115 (7) ◽  
pp. 1519-1526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Peinemann ◽  
Bibiana Reimer ◽  
Christian Löer ◽  
Angelo Quartarone ◽  
Alexander Münchau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Repetitive Tms

scholarly journals Phase of beta-frequency tACS over primary motor cortex modulates corticospinal excitability

Cortex ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 142-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukas Schilberg ◽  
Tahnée Engelen ◽  
Sanne ten Oever ◽  
Teresa Schuhmann ◽  
Beatrice de Gelder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Beta Frequency

scholarly journals Corticospinal correlates of fast and slow adaptive processes in motor learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 2011-2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adjmal M. E. Sarwary ◽  
Miles Wischnewski ◽  
Dennis J. L. G. Schutter ◽  
Luc P. J. Selen ◽  
W. Pieter Medendorp
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Behavioral Observations ◽  
Adaptive Processes ◽  
Adaptation Processes ◽  
Adaptation Task ◽  
Adaptation Model

Recent computational theories and behavioral observations suggest that motor learning is supported by multiple adaptation processes, operating on different timescales, but direct neural evidence is lacking. We tested this hypothesis by applying transcranial magnetic stimulation over motor cortex in 16 human subjects during a validated reach adaptation task. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and cortical silent periods (CSPs) were recorded from the biceps brachii to assess modulations of corticospinal excitability as indices for corticospinal plasticity. Guided by a two-state adaptation model, we show that the MEP reflects an adaptive process that learns quickly but has poor retention, while the CSP correlates with a process that responds more slowly but retains information well. These results provide a physiological link between models of motor learning and distinct changes in corticospinal excitability. Our findings support the relationship between corticospinal gain modulations and the adaptive processes in motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Computational theories and behavioral observations suggest that motor learning is supported by multiple adaptation processes, but direct neural evidence is lacking. We tested this hypothesis by applying transcranial magnetic stimulation over human motor cortex during a reach adaptation task. Guided by a two-state adaptation model, we show that the motor-evoked potential reflects a process that adapts and decays quickly, whereas the cortical silent period reflects slow adaptation and decay.

BDNF Val66Met polymorphism is associated with abnormal interhemispheric transfer of a newly acquired motor skill

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (10) ◽  
pp. 2094-2102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Morin-Moncet ◽  
Vincent Beaumont ◽  
Louis de Beaumont ◽  
Jean-Francois Lepage ◽  
Hugo Théoret
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Interhemispheric Transfer ◽  
Corticospinal Excitability ◽  
Genetic Group ◽  
Val66met Polymorphism ◽  
Genotype Group ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
The Right

Recent data suggest that the Val66Met polymorphism of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene can alter cortical plasticity within the motor cortex of carriers, which exhibits abnormally low rates of cortical reorganization after repetitive motor tasks. To verify whether long-term retention of a motor skill is also modulated by the presence of the polymorphism, 20 participants (10 Val66Val, 10 Val66Met) were tested twice at a 1-wk interval. During each visit, excitability of the motor cortex was measured by transcranial magnetic stimulations (TMS) before and after performance of a procedural motor learning task (serial reaction time task) designed to study sequence-specific learning of the right hand and sequence-specific transfer from the right to the left hand. Behavioral results showed a motor learning effect that persisted for at least a week and task-related increases in corticospinal excitability identical for both sessions and without distinction for genetic group. Sequence-specific transfer of the motor skill from the right hand to the left hand was greater in session 2 than in session 1 only in the Val66Met genetic group. Further analysis revealed that the sequence-specific transfer occurred equally at both sessions in the Val66Val genotype group. In the Val66Met genotype group, sequence-specific transfer did not occur at session 1 but did at session 2. These data suggest a limited impact of Val66Met polymorphism on the learning and retention of a complex motor skill and its associated changes in corticospinal excitability over time, and a possible modulation of the interhemispheric transfer of procedural learning.

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