Cortical Activity in Precision- Versus Power-Grip Tasks: An fMRI Study

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 528-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Henrik Ehrsson ◽  
Anders Fagergren ◽  
Tomas Jonsson ◽  
Göran Westling ◽  
Roland S. Johansson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Precision Grip ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Power Grip ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Cingulate Motor Area ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
The Right

Most manual grips can be divided in precision and power grips on the basis of phylogenetic and functional considerations. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare human brain activity during force production by the right hand when subjects used a precision grip and a power grip. During the precision-grip task, subjects applied fine grip forces between the tips of the index finger and the thumb. During the power-grip task, subjects squeezed a cylindrical object using all digits in a palmar opposition grasp. The activity recorded in the primary sensory and motor cortex contralateral to the operating hand was higher when the power grip was applied than when subjects applied force with a precision grip. In contrast, the activity in the ipsilateral ventral premotor area, the rostral cingulate motor area, and at several locations in the posterior parietal and prefrontal cortices was stronger while making the precision grip than during the power grip. The power grip was associated predominately with contralateral left-sided activity, whereas the precision-grip task involved extensive activations in both hemispheres. Thus our findings indicate that in addition to the primary motor cortex, premotor and parietal areas are important for control of fingertip forces during precision grip. Moreover, the ipsilateral hemisphere appears to be strongly engaged in the control of precision-grip tasks performed with the right hand.

Differential Fronto-Parietal Activation Depending on Force Used in a Precision Grip Task: An fMRI Study

2001 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 2613-2623 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Henrik Ehrsson ◽  
Anders Fagergren ◽  
Hans Forssberg
Keyword(s):  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Precision Grip ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
Cingulate Motor Area ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Small Force ◽  
Tactile Cues ◽  
The Right ◽  
Precision Grips

Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggest that the control of fingertip forces between the index finger and the thumb (precision grips) is dependent on bilateral frontal and parietal regions in addition to the primary motor cortex contralateral to the grasping hand. Here we use fMRI to examine the hypothesis that some of the areas of the brain associated with precision grips are more strongly engaged when subjects generate small grip forces than when they employ large grip forces. Subjects grasped a stationary object using a precision grip and employed a small force (3.8 N) that was representative of the forces that are typically used when manipulating small objects with precision grips in everyday situations or a large force (16.6 N) that represents a somewhat excessive force compared with normal everyday usage. Both force conditions involved the generation of time-variant static and dynamic grip forces under isometric conditions guided by auditory and tactile cues. The main finding was that we observed stronger activity in the bilateral cortex lining the inferior part of the precentral sulcus (area 44/ventral premotor cortex), the rostral cingulate motor area, and the right intraparietal cortex when subjects applied a small force in comparison to when they generated a larger force. This observation suggests that secondary sensorimotor related areas in the frontal and parietal lobes play an important role in the control of fine precision grip forces in the range typically used for the manipulation of small objects.

scholarly journals Importance of the Primary Motor Cortex in Development of Human Hand/Finger Dexterity

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiichi Naito ◽  
Tomoyo Morita ◽  
Minoru Asada
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Finger Dexterity ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Neuronal Inhibition

Abstract Hand/finger dexterity is well-developed in humans, and the primary motor cortex (M1) is believed to play a particularly important role in it. Here, we show that efficient recruitment of the contralateral M1 and neuronal inhibition of the ipsilateral M1 identified by simple hand motor and proprioceptive tasks are related to hand/finger dexterity and its ontogenetic development. We recruited healthy, right-handed children (n = 21, aged 8–11 years) and adults (n = 23, aged 20–26 years) and measured their brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging during active and passive right-hand extension–flexion tasks. We calculated individual active control-related activity (active–passive) to evaluate efficient brain activity recruitment and individual task-related deactivation (neuronal inhibition) during both tasks. Outside the scanner, participants performed 2 right-hand dexterous motor tasks, and we calculated the hand/finger dexterity index (HDI) based on their individual performance. Participants with a higher HDI exhibited less active control-related activity in the contralateral M1 defined by the active and passive tasks, independent of age. Only children with a higher HDI exhibited greater ipsilateral M1 deactivation identified by these tasks. The results imply that hand/finger dexterity can be predicted by recruitment and inhibition styles of the M1 during simple hand sensory–motor tasks.

scholarly journals Prediction of Muscle Activity by Populations of Sequentially Recorded Primary Motor Cortex Neurons

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 2279-2288 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Morrow ◽  
L. E. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Precision Grip ◽  
Coefficient Of Determination ◽  
Emg Activity ◽  
Power Grip ◽  
Emg Signal ◽  
Regression Parameters

We have adopted an analysis that produces a post hoc prediction of the time course of electromyogram (EMG) activity from the discharge of ensembles of neurons recorded sequentially from the primary motor cortex (M1) of a monkey. Over several recording sessions, we collected data from 50 M1 neurons and several distal forelimb muscles during a stereotyped precision grip task. Ensemble averages were constructed from 5 to 10 trials for each neuron and EMG signal. We used multiple linear regression on randomly chosen subsets of these neurons to find the best fit between the neuronal and EMG data. The fixed delay between neuronal and EMG signals that yielded the largest coefficient of determination ( R 2) between predicted and actual EMG was 50 ms. R 2 averaged 0.83 for ensembles composed of 15 neurons. If, instead, each neuronal signal was delayed by the time of its peak cross-correlation with the EMG signal, R 2 increased to 0.88. Using all 50 neurons, R 2 under these conditions averaged nearly 0.97. A similar analysis was conducted with signals recorded during both a power grip and a precision grip task. Quality of the fit dropped dramatically when parameters from the precision grip for a given set of neurons were used to fit data recorded during the power grip. However, when a single set of regression parameters was used to fit a combination of the two tasks, the quality of the fits decreased by <10% from that of a single task.

scholarly journals Reduced Interhemispheric Coherence in Cerebellar Kainic Acid-Induced Lateralized Dystonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Laura Georgescu Margarint ◽  
Ioana Antoaneta Georgescu ◽  
Carmen Denise Mihaela Zahiu ◽  
Stefan-Alexandru Tirlea ◽  
Alexandru Rǎzvan Şteopoaie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Kainic Acid ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Muscular Activity ◽  
Cerebellar Hemisphere ◽  
Interhemispheric Coherence ◽  
General Locomotor Activity ◽  
Complex Circuits ◽  
The Right

The execution of voluntary muscular activity is controlled by the primary motor cortex, together with the cerebellum and basal ganglia. The synchronization of neural activity in the intracortical network is crucial for the regulation of movements. In certain motor diseases, such as dystonia, this synchrony can be altered in any node of the cerebello-cortical network. Questions remain about how the cerebellum influences the motor cortex and interhemispheric communication. This research aims to study the interhemispheric cortical communication between the motor cortices during dystonia, a neurological movement syndrome consisting of sustained or repetitive involuntary muscle contractions. We pharmacologically induced lateralized dystonia to adult male albino mice by administering low doses of kainic acid on the left cerebellar hemisphere. Using electrocorticography and electromyography, we investigated the power spectral densities, cortico-muscular, and interhemispheric coherence between the right and left motor cortices, before and during dystonia, for five consecutive days. Mice displayed lateralized abnormal motor signs, a reduced general locomotor activity, and a high score of dystonia. The results showed a progressive interhemispheric coherence decrease in low-frequency bands (delta, theta, beta) during the first 3 days. The cortico-muscular coherence of the affected side had a significant increase in gamma bands on days 3 and 4. In conclusion, lateralized cerebellar dysfunction during dystonia was associated with a loss of connectivity in the motor cortices, suggesting a possible cortical compensation to the initial disturbances induced by cerebellar left hemisphere kainate activation by blocking the propagation of abnormal oscillations to the healthy hemisphere. However, the cerebellum is part of several overly complex circuits, therefore other mechanisms can still be involved in this phenomenon.

scholarly journals Comparison of repeated transcranial stimulation and transcranial direct-current stimulation on primary motor cortex excitability and inhibition: A pilot study

2018 ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Cabibel ◽  
Makii Muthalib ◽  
Jérôme Froger ◽  
Stéphane Perrey
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Motor Evoked Potentials ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Motor Cortex Excitability ◽  
The Right

Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a well-known clinical neuromodulation technique, but transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) is rapidly growing interest for neurorehabilitation applications. Both methods (contralesional hemisphere inhibitory low-frequency: LF-rTMS or lesional hemisphere excitatory anodal: a-tDCS) have been employed to modify the interhemispheric imbalance following stroke. The aim of this pilot study was to compare aHD-tDCS (anodal high-definition tDCS) of the left M1 (2 mA, 20 min) and LF-rTMS of the right M1 (1 Hz, 20 min) to enhance excitability and reduce inhibition of the left primary motor cortex (M1) in five healthy subjects. Single-pulse TMS was used to elicit resting and active (low level muscle contraction, 5% of maximal electromyographic signal) motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and cortical silent periods (CSPs) from the right and left extensor carpi radialis muscles at Baseline, immediately and 20 min (Post-Stim-20) after the end of each stimulation protocol. LF-rTMS or aHD-tDCS significantly increased right M1 resting and active MEP amplitude at Post-Stim-20 without any CSP modulation and with no difference between methods. In conclusion, this pilot study reported unexpected M1 excitability changes, which most likely stems from variability, which is a major concern in the field to consider.

Mirror-representation of the right hand in human primary sensory cortex — An fMRI study

NeuroImage ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1226
Author(s):  
Robert Meyer ◽  
Felix Blankenburg ◽  
Jan Ruben ◽  
Jessica Schwiemann ◽  
Sebastian Thees ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
Primary Sensory Cortex ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
The Right

Abnormal dynamic brain activity and functional connectivity of primary motor cortex in blepharospasm

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhan Luo ◽  
Yaomin Guo ◽  
Linchang Zhong ◽  
Ying Liu ◽  
Chao Dang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Brain Activity

Systematic Changes in Directional Tuning of Motor Cortex Cell Activity With Hand Location in the Workspace During Generation of Static Isometric Forces in Constant Spatial Directions

1997 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
pp. 1170-1174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren E. Sergio ◽  
John F. Kalaska
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Force Production ◽  
Static Force ◽  
Force Output ◽  
Directional Tuning ◽  
Cortex Cell ◽  
Isometric Forces

Sergio, Lauren E. and John F. Kalaska. Systematic changes in directional tuning of motor cortex cell activity with hand location in the workspace during generation of static isometric forces in constant spatial directions. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 1170–1174, 1997. We examined the activity of 46 proximal-arm-related cells in the primary motor cortex (MI) during a task in which a monkey uses the arm to exert isometric forces at the hand in constant spatial directions while the hand is in one of nine different spatial locations on a plane. The discharge rate of all 46 cells was significantly affected by both hand location and by the direction of static force during the final static-force phase of the task. In addition, all cells showed a significant interaction between force direction and hand location. That is, there was a significant modulation in the relationship between cell activity and the direction of exerted force as a function of hand location. For many cells, this modulation was expressed in part as a systematic arclike shift in the cell's directional tuning at the different hand locations, even though the direction of static force output at the hand remained constant. These effects of hand location in the workspace indicate that the discharge of single MI cells does not covary exclusively with the level and direction of force output at the hand. Sixteen proximal-arm-related muscles showed similar effects in the task, reflecting their dependence on various mechanical factors that varied with hand location. The parallel changes found for both MI cell activity and muscle activity for static force production at different hand locations are further evidence that MI contributes to the transformation between extrinsic and intrinsic representations of limb movement.

scholarly journals Role of the Ipsilateral Motor Cortex in Voluntary Movement

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (04) ◽  
pp. 284-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Chen ◽  
Leonardo G. Cohen ◽  
Mark Hallett
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Functional Recovery ◽  
Voluntary Movement ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Focal Brain Injury ◽  
Complex Sequences ◽  
The Right

ABSTRACT:The ipsilateral primary motor cortex (M1) plays a role in voluntary movement. In our studies, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to study the effects of transient disruption of the ipsilateral M1 on the performance of finger sequences in right-handed normal subjects. Stimulation of the M1 ipsilateral to the movement induced timing errors in both simple and complex sequences performed with either hand, but with complex sequences, the effects were more pronounced with the left-sided stimulation. Recent studies in both animals and humans have confirmed the traditional view that ipsilateral projections from M1 to the upper limb are mainly directed to truncal and proximal muscles, with little evidence for direct connections to distal muscles. The ipsilateral motor pathway appears to be an important mechanism for functional recovery after focal brain injury during infancy, but its role in functional recovery for older children and adults has not yet been clearly demonstrated. There is increasing evidence from studies using different methodologies such as rTMS, functional imaging and movement-related cortical potentials, that M1 is involved in ipsilateral hand movements, with greater involvement in more complex tasks and the left hemisphere playing a greater role than the right.

scholarly journals Modulating Observation-Execution-Related Motor Cortex Activity by Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fengxue Qi ◽  
Michael A. Nitsche ◽  
Volker R. Zschorlich
Keyword(s):  
Motor Cortex ◽  
Direct Current ◽  
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Movement Execution ◽  
Movement Observation ◽  
Direct Current Stimulation ◽  
Cohen’S D ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cohen's D

The aim of this randomized sham-controlled study was to examine the impact of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) of the primary motor cortex (M1) during movement observation on subsequent execution-related motor cortex activity. Thirty healthy participants received sham or real ctDCS (1 mA) over the left M1 for 10 minutes, respectively. The participants observed a video showing repeated button pressing tasks of the right hand during the sham or real ctDCS, followed by performance of these tasks by the right hand. Motor-evoked potentials (MEP) were recorded from the resting right first dorsal interosseous muscle before movement observation during the sham or real ctDCS, immediately after observation of actions, and after subsequent movement execution. The results of the ANOVA showed a significant main effect on the group (F1,28 = 4.60, p = 0.041) and a significant interaction between time and the group (F2,56 = 5.34, p = 0.008). As revealed by respective post hoc tests, ctDCS induced a significant reduction of MEP amplitudes in connection with movement observation (p = 0.026, Cohen’s d = 0.861) and after subsequent movement execution (p = 0.018, Cohen’s d = 0.914) in comparison with the sham stimulation. It is concluded that ctDCS during movement observation was effective in terms of modulating motor cortex excitability. Moreover, it subsequently influenced execution-related motor cortex activity. This indicates a possible application for rehabilitative treatment in syndromes with pathologically enhanced cortical activity.

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