scholarly journals Cross-Modal Audiovisual Modulation of Corticospinal Motor Synergies in Professional Piano Players: A TMS Study during Motor Imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Simone Rossi ◽  
Danilo Spada ◽  
Marco Emanuele ◽  
Monica Ulivelli ◽  
Emiliano Santarnecchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Index Finger ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Muscle Synergies ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Musical Performances ◽  
Motor Synergies ◽  
Specific Muscle ◽  
Motor Synergy ◽  
The Right

Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to investigate corticospinal output changes in 10 professional piano players during motor imagery of triad chords in C major to be “mentally” performed with three fingers of the right hand (thumb, index, and little finger). Five triads were employed in the task; each composed by a stable 3rd interval (C4-E4) and a varying third note that could generate a 5th (G4), a 6th (A4), a 7th (B4), a 9th (D5), or a 10th (E5) interval. The 10th interval chord was thought to be impossible in actual execution for biomechanical reasons, as long as the thumb and the index finger remained fixed on the 3rd interval. Chords could be listened from loudspeakers, read on a staff, or listened and read at the same time while performing the imagery task. The corticospinal output progressively increased along with task demands in terms of mental representation of hand extension. The effects of audio, visual, or audiovisual musical stimuli were generally similar, unless motor imagery of kinetically impossible triads was required. A specific three-effector motor synergy was detected, governing the representation of the progressive mental extension of the hand. Results demonstrate that corticospinal facilitation in professional piano players can be modulated according to the motor plan, even if simply “dispatched” without actual execution. Moreover, specific muscle synergies, usually encoded in the motor cortex, emerge along the cross-modal elaboration of musical stimuli and in motor imagery of musical performances.

scholarly journals Directional Decoding From EEG in a Center-Out Motor Imagery Task With Visual and Vibrotactile Guidance

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Hehenberger ◽  
Luka Batistic ◽  
Andreea I. Sburlea ◽  
Gernot R. Müller-Putz
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Spectral Features ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Somatosensory Input ◽  
Kinesthetic Feedback ◽  
The Right

Motor imagery is a popular technique employed as a motor rehabilitation tool, or to control assistive devices to substitute lost motor function. In both said areas of application, artificial somatosensory input helps to mirror the sensorimotor loop by providing kinesthetic feedback or guidance in a more intuitive fashion than via visual input. In this work, we study directional and movement-related information in electroencephalographic signals acquired during a visually guided center-out motor imagery task in two conditions, i.e., with and without additional somatosensory input in the form of vibrotactile guidance. Imagined movements to the right and forward could be discriminated in low-frequency electroencephalographic amplitudes with group level peak accuracies of 70% with vibrotactile guidance, and 67% without vibrotactile guidance. The peak accuracies with and without vibrotactile guidance were not significantly different. Furthermore, the motor imagery could be classified against a resting baseline with group level accuracies between 76 and 83%, using either low-frequency amplitude features or μ and β power spectral features. On average, accuracies were higher with vibrotactile guidance, while this difference was only significant in the latter set of features. Our findings suggest that directional information in low-frequency electroencephalographic amplitudes is retained in the presence of vibrotactile guidance. Moreover, they hint at an enhancing effect on motor-related μ and β spectral features when vibrotactile guidance is provided.

scholarly journals Handedness effects on motor imagery during kinesthetic and visual-motor conditions

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Zapała ◽  
Paulina Iwanowicz ◽  
Piotr Francuz ◽  
Paweł Augustynowicz
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Related Area ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Eeg Data ◽  
Simple Movement ◽  
Visual Motor ◽  
The Right ◽  
Sensorimotor Rhythms ◽  
Alpha Waves

AbstractRecent studies show that during a simple movement imagery task, the power of sensorimotor rhythms differs according to handedness. However, the effects of motor imagery perspectives on these differences have not been investigated yet. Our study aimed to check how handedness impacts the activity of alpha (8–13 Hz) and beta (15–30 Hz) oscillations during creating a kinesthetic (KMI) or visual-motor (VMI) representation of movement. Forty subjects (20 right-handed and 20 left-handed) who participated in the experiment were tasked with imagining sequential finger movement from a visual or kinesthetic perspective. Both the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and behavioral correctness of the imagery task performance were measured. After the registration, we used independent component analysis (ICA) on EEG data to localize visual- and motor-related EEG sources of activity shared by both motor imagery conditions. Significant differences were obtained in the visual cortex (the occipital ICs cluster) and the right motor-related area (right parietal ICs cluster). In comparison to right-handers who, regardless of the task, demonstrated the same pattern in the visual area, left-handers obtained higher power in the alpha waves in the VMI task and better performance in this condition. On the other hand, only the right-handed showed different patterns in the alpha waves in the right motor cortex during the KMI condition. The results indicate that left-handers imagine movement differently than right-handers, focusing on visual experience. This provides new empirical evidence on the influence of movement preferences on imagery processes and has possible future implications for research in the area of neurorehabilitation and motor imagery-based brain–computer interfaces (MI-BCIs).

Handedness Effects on Movement Imagery During Kinesthetic and Visual-Motor Conditions. An EEG Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dariusz Zapała ◽  
Paulina Iwanowicz ◽  
Piotr Francuz ◽  
Paweł Augustynowicz
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Related Area ◽  
Left Handed ◽  
Movement Imagery ◽  
Simple Movement ◽  
Visual Motor ◽  
The Right ◽  
Sensorimotor Rhythms ◽  
Alpha Waves

Abstract Recent studies show that during a simple movement imagery task, the power of sensorimotor rhythms differs according to handedness. However, the effects of motor imagery perspectives on these differences have not been investigated yet. Our study aimed to check how handedness impacts the activity of alpha (8 - 13 Hz) and beta (15 - 30 Hz) oscillations during creating a kinesthetic (KMI) or visual-motor (VMI) representation of movement. Forty subjects (20 right-handed and 20 left-handed) who participated in the experiment were tasked with imagining sequential finger movement from a visual or kinesthetic perspective. Both the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and behavioral correctness of the imagery task performance were measured. After the registration, we used independent component analysis (ICA) on EEG data to localize visual- and motor-related EEG sources of activity shared by both motor imagery conditions. Significant differences were obtained in the visual cortex (the occipital ICs cluster) and the right motor-related area (right parietal ICs cluster). In comparison to right-handers who, regardless of the task, demonstrated the same pattern in the visual area, left-handers obtained higher power in the alpha waves in the VMI task and better performance in this condition. On the other hand, only the right-handed showed different patterns in the alpha waves in the right motor cortex during the KMI condition.The results indicate that left-handers imagine movement differently than right-handers, focusing on visual experience. This provides new empirical evidence on the influence of movement preferences on imagery processes and has possible future implications for research in the area of neurorehabilitation and motor imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs).

Experience Influences Brain Mechanisms of Watching Dance

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (supplement) ◽  
pp. 352-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seon Hee Jang ◽  
Frank E Pollick
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Brain Area ◽  
Retrosplenial Cortex ◽  
Imagery Task ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Action Observation Network ◽  
Viewing Experience

The study of dance has been helpful to advance our understanding of how human brain networks of action observation are influenced by experience. However previous studies have not examined the effect of extensive visual experience alone: for example, an art critic or dance fan who has a rich experience of watching dance but negligible experience performing dance. To explore the effect of pure visual experience we performed a single experiment using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to compare the neural processing of dance actions in 3 groups: a) 14 ballet dancers, b) 10 experienced viewers, c) 12 novices without any extensive dance or viewing experience. Each of the 36 participants viewed short 2-second displays of ballet derived from motion capture of a professional ballerina. These displays represented the ballerina as only points of light at the major joints. We wished to study the action observation network broadly and thus included two different types of display and two different tasks for participants to perform. The two different displays were: a) brief movies of a ballet action and b) frames from the ballet movies with the points of lights connected by lines to show a ballet posture. The two different tasks were: a) passively observe the display and b) imagine performing the action depicted in the display. The two levels of display and task were combined factorially to produce four experimental conditions (observe movie, observe posture, motor imagery of movie, motor imagery of posture). The set of stimuli used in the experiment are available for download after this paper. A random effects ANOVA was performed on brain activity and an effect of experience was obtained in seven different brain areas including: right Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ), left Retrosplenial Cortex (RSC), right Primary Somatosensory Cortex (S1), bilateral Primary Motor Cortex (M1), right Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC), right Temporal Pole (TP). The patterns of activation were plotted in each of these areas (TPJ, RSC, S1, M1, OFC, TP) to investigate more closely how the effect of experience changed across these areas. For this analysis, novices were treated as baseline and the relative effect of experience examined in the dancer and experienced viewer groups. Interpretation of these results suggests that both visual and motor experience appear equivalent in producing more extensive early processing of dance actions in early stages of representation (TPJ and RSC) and we hypothesise that this could be due to the involvement of autobiographical memory processes. The pattern of results found for dancers in S1 and M1 suggest that their perception of dance actions are enhanced by embodied processes. For example, the S1 results are consistent with claims that this brain area shows mirror properties. The pattern of results found for the experienced viewers in OFC and TP suggests that their perception of dance actions are enhanced by cognitive processes. For example, involving aspects of social cognition and hedonic processing – the experienced viewers find the motor imagery task more pleasant and have richer connections of dance to social memory. While aspects of our interpretation are speculative the core results clearly show common and distinct aspects of how viewing experience and physical experience shape brain responses to watching dance.

scholarly journals Bimanual coupling effect during a proprioceptive stimulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Biggio ◽  
A. Bisio ◽  
F. Garbarini ◽  
Marco Bove
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Coupling Effect ◽  
Line Drawing ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Muscle Vibration ◽  
Imagery Condition ◽  
Left Hand ◽  
Contralateral Hand ◽  
Bimanual Coupling ◽  
The Right

AbstractCircle-line drawing paradigm is used to study bimanual coupling. In the standard paradigm, subjects are asked to draw circles with one hand and lines with the other hand; the influence of the concomitant tasks results in two “elliptical” figures. Here we tested whether proprioceptive information evoked by muscle vibration inducing a proprioceptive illusion (PI) of movement at central level, was able to affect the contralateral hand drawing circles or lines. A multisite 80 Hz-muscle vibration paradigm was used to induce the illusion of circle- and line-drawing on the right hand of 15 healthy participants. During muscle vibration, subjects had to draw a congruent or an incongruent figure with the left hand. The ovalization induced by PI was compared with Real and Motor Imagery conditions, which already have proved to induce bimanual coupling. We showed that the ovalization of a perceived circle over a line drawing during PI was comparable to that observed in Real and Motor Imagery condition. This finding indicates that PI can induce bimanual coupling, and proprioceptive information can influence the motor programs of the contralateral hand.

Postural adjustments for online corrections of arm movements in standing humans

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 2375-2388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia A. Leonard ◽  
Valeriya Gritsenko ◽  
Ryan Ouckama ◽  
Paul J. Stapley
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Arm Movements ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Target Displacement ◽  
Postural Adjustments ◽  
Central Target ◽  
Postural Muscle ◽  
Online Corrections ◽  
Standing Humans ◽  
The Right

The aim of this study was to investigate how humans correct ongoing arm movements while standing. Specifically, we sought to understand whether the postural adjustments in the legs required for online corrections of arm movements are predictive or rely on feedback from the moving limb. To answer this question we measured online corrections in arm and leg muscles during pointing movements while standing. Nine healthy right-handed subjects reached with their dominant arm to a visual target in front of them and aligned with their midline. In some trials, the position of the target would switch from the central target to one of the other targets located 15°, 30°, or 45° to the right of the central (midline) target. For each target correction, we measured the time at which arm kinematics, ground reaction forces, and arm and leg muscle electromyogram significantly changed in response to the target displacement. Results show that postural adjustments in the left leg preceded kinematic corrections in the limb. The corrective postural muscle activity in the left leg consistently preceded the corrective reaching muscle activity in the right arm. Our results demonstrate that corrections of arm movements in response to target displacement during stance are preceded by postural adjustments in the leg contralateral to the direction of target shift. Furthermore, postural adjustments preceded both the hand trajectory correction and the arm-muscle activity responsible for it, which suggests that the central nervous system does not depend on feedback from the moving arm to modify body posture during voluntary movement. Instead, postural adjustments lead the online correction in the arm the same way they lead the initiation of voluntary arm movements. This suggests that forward models for voluntary movements executed during stance incorporate commands for posture that are produced on the basis of the required task demands.

Active, passive, and motor imagery paradigms: component analysis to assess neurovascular coupling

2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (10) ◽  
pp. 1406-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela S. M. Salinet ◽  
Thompson G. Robinson ◽  
Ronney B. Panerai
Keyword(s):  
Motor Imagery ◽  
Moving Average ◽  
Neurovascular Coupling ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Autoregressive Moving Average Model ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Moving Average Model ◽  
End Tidal ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cognitive Paradigms

The association between neural activity and cerebral blood flow (CBF) has been used to assess neurovascular coupling (NVC) in health and diseases states, but little attention has been given to the contribution of simultaneous changes in peripheral covariates. We used an innovative approach to assess the contributions of arterial blood pressure (BP), PaCO2, and the stimulus itself to changes in CBF velocities (CBFv) during active (MA), passive (MP), and motor imagery (MI) paradigms. Continuous recordings of CBFv, beat-to-beat BP, heart rate, and breath-by-breath end-tidal CO2 (EtCO2) were performed in 17 right-handed subjects before, during, and after motor-cognitive paradigms performed with the right arm. A multivariate autoregressive-moving average model was used to calculate the separate contributions of BP, EtCO2, and the neural activation stimulus (represented by a metronome on-off signal) to the CBFv response during paradigms. Differences were found in the bilateral CBFv responses to MI compared with MA and MP, due to the contributions of stimulation ( P < 0.05). BP was the dominant contributor to the initial peaked CBFv response in all paradigms with no significant differences between paradigms, while the contribution of the stimulus explained the plateau phase and extended duration of the CBFv responses. Separating the neural activation contribution from the influences of other covariates, it was possible to detect differences between three paradigms often used to assess disease-related NVC. Apparently similar CBFv responses to different motor-cognitive paradigms can be misleading due to the contributions from peripheral covariates and could lead to inaccurate assessment of NVC, particularly during MI.

LINBURG-COMSTOCK PHENOMENON FOLLOWING FOREARM LACERATION

Hand Surgery ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
pp. 221-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Lin ◽  
S. Sreedharan ◽  
Andrew Y. H. Chin
Keyword(s):  
Index Finger ◽  
Interphalangeal Joint ◽  
Penetrating Injury ◽  
Flexor Digitorum Profundus ◽  
Flexor Pollicis Longus ◽  
Distal Interphalangeal Joint ◽  
Distal Interphalangeal ◽  
The Right ◽  
Flexor Digitorum ◽  
Wide Awake

A 20-year-old man presented with an inability to flex the interphalangeal joint of the right thumb without simultaneous flexion of the distal interphalangeal joint of the index finger following a penetrating injury to the right forearm. With a clinical suspicion of intertendinous adhesions between the flexor pollicis longus and the flexor digitorum profundus to the index finger, surgical exploration under wide-awake anesthesia was performed. Intraoperatively, the intertendinous adhesions were identified and divided completely. Postoperatively, the patient achieved good, independent flexion of the interphalangeal joint of the thumb. This case demonstrates a clinical picture similar to that of Linburg-Comstock syndrome, which occurred following a forearm penetrating injury. We call this the Linburg-Comstock (LC) phenomenon.

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