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Sample records for left supplementary motor

  1. The role of left supplementary motor area in grip force scaling.

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    Olivier White

    Full Text Available Skilled tool use and object manipulation critically relies on the ability to scale anticipatorily the grip force (GF in relation to object dynamics. This predictive behaviour entails that the nervous system is able to store, and then select, the appropriate internal representation of common object dynamics, allowing GF to be applied in parallel with the arm motor commands. Although psychophysical studies have provided strong evidence supporting the existence of internal representations of object dynamics, known as "internal models", their neural correlates are still debated. Because functional neuroimaging studies have repeatedly designated the supplementary motor area (SMA as a possible candidate involved in internal model implementation, we used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS to interfere with the normal functioning of left or right SMA in healthy participants performing a grip-lift task with either hand. TMS applied over the left, but not right, SMA yielded an increase in both GF and GF rate, irrespective of the hand used to perform the task, and only when TMS was delivered 130-180 ms before the fingers contacted the object. We also found that both left and right SMA rTMS led to a decrease in preload phase durations for contralateral hand movements. The present study suggests that left SMA is a crucial node in the network processing the internal representation of object dynamics although further experiments are required to rule out that TMS does not affect the GF gain. The present finding also further substantiates the left hemisphere dominance in scaling GF.

  2. Aberrant supplementary motor complex and limbic activity during motor preparation in motor conversion disorder.

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    Voon, Valerie; Brezing, Christina; Gallea, Cecile; Hallett, Mark

    2011-11-01

    Conversion disorder (CD) is characterized by unexplained neurological symptoms presumed related to psychological issues. The main hypotheses to explain conversion paralysis, characterized by a lack of movement, include impairments in either motor intention or disruption of motor execution, and further, that hyperactive self-monitoring, limbic processing or top-down regulation from higher order frontal regions may interfere with motor execution. We have recently shown that CD with positive abnormal or excessive motor symptoms was associated with greater amygdala activity to arousing stimuli along with greater functional connectivity between the amygdala and supplementary motor area. Here we studied patients with such symptoms focusing on motor initiation. Subjects performed either an internally or externally generated 2-button action selection task in a functional MRI study. Eleven CD patients without major depression and 11 age- and gender-matched normal volunteers were assessed. During both internally and externally generated movement, conversion disorder patients relative to normal volunteers had lower left supplementary motor area (SMA) (implicated in motor initiation) and higher right amygdala, left anterior insula, and bilateral posterior cingulate activity (implicated in assigning emotional salience). These findings were confirmed in a subgroup analysis of patients with tremor symptoms. During internally versus externally generated action in CD patients, the left SMA had lower functional connectivity with bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. We propose a theory in which previously mapped conversion motor representations may in an arousing context hijack the voluntary action selection system, which is both hypoactive and functionally disconnected from prefrontal top-down regulation. Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

  3. Aberrant supplementary motor complex and limbic activity during motor preparation in motor conversion disorder

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    Voon, V; Brezing, C; Gallea, C; Hallett, M

    2014-01-01

    Background Conversion disorder is characterized by unexplained neurological symptoms presumed related to psychological issues. The main hypotheses to explain conversion paralysis, characterized by a lack of movement, include impairments in either motor intention or disruption of motor execution, and further, that hyperactive self-monitoring, limbic processing or top-down regulation from higher order frontal regions may interfere with motor execution. We have recently shown that conversion disorder with positive abnormal or excessive motor symptoms was associated with greater amygdala activity to arousing stimuli along with greater functional connectivity between the amgydala and supplementary motor area. Here we studied patients with such symptoms focusing on motor initiation. Methods Subjects performed either an internally or externally generated two-button action selection task in a functional MRI study. Results Eleven conversion disorder patients without major depression and 11 age- and gender-matched normal volunteers were assessed. During both internally and externally generated movement, conversion disorder patients relative to normal volunteers had lower left supplementary motor area (SMA) (implicated in motor initiation) and higher right amygdala, left anterior insula and bilateral posterior cingulate activity (implicated in assigning emotional salience). These findings were confirmed in a subgroup analysis of patients with tremor symptoms. During internally versus externally generated action in CD patients, the left SMA had lower functional connectivity with bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Conclusion We propose a theory in which previously mapped conversion motor representations may in an arousing context hijack the voluntary action selection system which is both hypoactive and functionally disconnected from prefrontal top-down regulation. PMID:21935985

  4. Right lower limb apraxia in a patient with left supplementary motor area infarction: intactness of the corticospinal tract confirmed by transcranial magnetic stimulation

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    Min Cheol Chang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We reported a 50-year-old female patient with left supplementary motor area infarction who presented right lower limb apraxia and investigated the possible causes using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The patient was able to walk and climb stairs spontaneously without any assistance at 3 weeks after onset. However, she was unable to intentionally move her right lower limb although she understood what she supposed to do. The motor evoked potential evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation from the right lower limb was within the normal range, indicating that the corticospinal tract innervating the right lower limb was uninjured. Thus, we thought that her motor dysfunction was not induced by motor weakness, and confirmed her symptoms as apraxia. In addition, these results also suggest that transcranial magnetic stimulation is helpful for diagnosing apraxia.

  5. Prognostic value of motor evoked potentials elicited by multipulse magnetic stimulation in a surgically induced transitory lesion of the supplementary motor area: a case report

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    Sala, F; Krzan, M; Jallo, G; Epstein, F; Deletis, V

    2000-01-01

    Surgery involving the supplementary motor area (SMA) places the patient at risk of transient motor deficit. To predict outcome in patients with early postoperative hypokinesis would be relevant to both the patient and the surgical team. A 15 year old girl with a large left thalamic tumour removed through a left transcallosal approach is described. Despite intraoperatively preserved muscle motor evoked potentials (mMEPs) from all limbs, elicited by multipulse electrical st...

  6. Origin of human motor readiness field linked to left middle frontal gyrus by MEG and PET

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Jane Rygaard; Johannsen, P; Bak, Christen Kjeldahl

    1998-01-01

    Combined magnetoencephalography and positron emission tomography identified a prior source of activity in the left middle frontal gyrus duping uncued movements of the right index finger Voluntary movements gave rise to a change in the cortical electrical potential known as the Bereitschaftspotent......Combined magnetoencephalography and positron emission tomography identified a prior source of activity in the left middle frontal gyrus duping uncued movements of the right index finger Voluntary movements gave rise to a change in the cortical electrical potential known...... sources subsequently to be active were mapped to the supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, and motor cortex (M1), all in the left hemisphere. (C) 1998 Academic Press....

  7. Functional resting-state connectivity of the human motor network: differences between right- and left-handers.

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    Pool, Eva-Maria; Rehme, Anne K; Eickhoff, Simon B; Fink, Gereon R; Grefkes, Christian

    2015-04-01

    Handedness is associated with differences in activation levels in various motor tasks performed with the dominant or non-dominant hand. Here we tested whether handedness is reflected in the functional architecture of the motor system even in the absence of an overt motor task. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging we investigated 18 right- and 18 left-handers. Whole-brain functional connectivity maps of the primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), dorsolateral premotor cortex (PMd), pre-SMA, inferior frontal junction and motor putamen were compared between right- and left-handers. We further used a multivariate linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier to reveal the specificity of brain regions for classifying handedness based on individual resting-state maps. Using left M1 as seed region, functional connectivity analysis revealed stronger interhemispheric functional connectivity between left M1 and right PMd in right-handers as compared to left-handers. This connectivity cluster contributed to the individual classification of right- and left-handers with 86.2% accuracy. Consistently, also seeding from right PMd yielded a similar handedness-dependent effect in left M1, albeit with lower classification accuracy (78.1%). Control analyses of the other resting-state networks including the speech and the visual network revealed no significant differences in functional connectivity related to handedness. In conclusion, our data revealed an intrinsically higher functional connectivity in right-handers. These results may help to explain that hand preference is more lateralized in right-handers than in left-handers. Furthermore, enhanced functional connectivity between left M1 and right PMd may serve as an individual marker of handedness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Enhancing motor network activity using real-time functional MRI neurofeedback of left premotor cortex

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    Theo Ferreira Marins

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Neurofeedback by functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI is a technique of potential therapeutic relevance that allows individuals to be aware of their own neurophysiological responses and to voluntarily modulate the activity of specific brain regions, such as the premotor cortex (PMC, important for motor recovery after brain injury. We investigated (i whether healthy human volunteers are able to up-regulate the activity of the left PMC during a right hand finger tapping motor imagery (MI task while receiving continuous fMRI-neurofeedback, and (ii whether successful modulation of brain activity influenced non-targeted motor control regions. During the MI task, participants of the neurofeedback group (NFB received ongoing visual feedback representing the level of fMRI responses within their left PMC. Control (CTL group participants were shown similar visual stimuli, but these were non-contingent on brain activity. Both groups showed equivalent levels of behavioral ratings on arousal and motor imagery, before and during the fMRI protocol. In the NFB, but not in CLT group, brain activation during the last run compared to the first run revealed increased activation in the left PMC. In addition, the NFB group showed increased activation in motor control regions extending beyond the left PMC target area, including the supplementary motor area, basal ganglia and cerebellum. Moreover, in the last run, the NFB group showed stronger activation in the left PMC/inferior frontal gyrus when compared to the CTL group. Our results indicate that modulation of PMC and associated motor control areas can be achieved during a single neurofeedback-fMRI session. These results contribute to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms of MI-based neurofeedback training, with direct implications for rehabilitation strategies in severe brain disorders, such as stroke.

  9. [Surgical treatment of gliomas involving the supplementary motor area in the superior frontal gyrus].

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    Liu, Wei; Lai, Jian-jun; Qu, Yuan-ming

    2004-07-07

    To explore surgical treatment of gliomas involving the supplementary motor area (SMA) in the superior frontal gyrus. Clinical data and follow-up outcome of 16 patients with low graded astrocytomas involving the supplementary motor area were analyzed. SMA syndrome was developed in 6 patients in whom the posterior tumor resection line was at a distance of more than 1 cm from the precentral sulcus and resolved after 12 months. Hemiplegia occurred however in 8 patients in whom the resection line was less than 1 cm to precentral sulcus and only resolved in 3 patients during follow period 12 months. When the resection is performed at a distance of less than 1 cm from the precentral sulcus, surgery for gliomas of involving the supplementary motor area in the superior frontal gyrus may be result in permanent morbidity.

  10. Behavioral evidence for left-hemisphere specialization of motor planning

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    Janssen, L.; Meulenbroek, R.G.; Steenbergen, B.

    2011-01-01

    Recent studies suggest that the left hemisphere is dominant for the planning of motor actions. This left-hemisphere specialization hypothesis was proposed in various lines of research, including patient studies, motor imagery studies, and studies involving neurophysiological techniques. However,

  11. A study on the activation of supplementary motor area in functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Gong Yong; Chung, Gyung Ho; Park, Hark Hoon; Oh, Hee Sul; Kim, Chong Soo; Chung, Jin Young

    1999-01-01

    To evaluate the activated zone of the supplementary motor area through motor and sensory stimulation of both hands by fMRI. Twenty-four healthy volunteers, ranging in age from 20 to 30 years, served as subjects. They were divided into four groups and performed one of the four activation tasks : complex movement, fine movement, touch sensation, heat sensation. Complex movement consisted of a finger task in which subjects flexed and extended all fingers repeatedly in union, without the fingers touching each other(group I). Fine movement involved a thumb task in which subjects flexed and extended the thumb repeatedly without touching the other fingers(group II). Touch sensation consisted of a palm task in which another person repeatedly drew a circle on the subject's palm (group III), and heat sensation involved of a palm task in which subject's palm was touched by another person with a 40 deg C water-bag (group IV). F-MRI was conducted on a commercial 1.5-T scanner equipped with echo-planar imaging. After overlapping images were obtained using a Z-s-core, and the mean/curve in the MR devices was evaluated, the activated zone of the supplementary motor area was also evalvated. Thirty-two of 48 images(20 of the 24 men) revealed activated zones in the supplementary motor area. In group I, activation was observed in five subjects, in three of whom it was bilateral (contralateral activation). In group II, activation was observed in five subjects, in one of whom it was bilateral. In group III, activation occurred in five subjects(bilateral in four, and contralateral in three), and In group IV, activation was also observed in five;in three of these it was bilateral. Using fMRI, and in association with motor and sensory tasks, the supplementary motor area was activated in 66.7% of healthy volunteers (32/48)

  12. Insights from the supplementary motor area syndrome in balancing movement initiation and inhibition

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    Potgieser, A. R. E.; de Jong, BM; Wagemakers, M.; Hoving, E. W.; Groen, R. J. M.

    2014-01-01

    The supplementary motor area (SMA) syndrome is a characteristic neurosurgical syndrome that can occur after unilateral resection of the SMA. Clinical symptoms may vary from none to a global akinesia, predominantly on the contralateral side, with preserved muscle strength and mutism. A remarkable

  13. Ipsilateral corticotectal projections from the primary, premotor and supplementary motor cortical areas in adult macaque monkeys: a quantitative anterograde tracing study

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    Fregosi, Michela; Rouiller, Eric M.

    2018-01-01

    The corticotectal projection from cortical motor areas is one of several descending pathways involved in the indirect control of spinal motoneurons. In non-human primates, previous studies reported that cortical projections to the superior colliculus originated from the premotor cortex and the primary motor cortex, whereas no projection originated from the supplementary motor area. The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the properties of corticotectal projections originating from these three cortical motor areas in intact adult macaques (n=9). The anterograde tracer BDA was injected into one of these cortical areas in each animal. Individual axonal boutons, both en passant and terminaux, were charted and counted in the different layers of the ipsilateral superior colliculus. The data confirmed the presence of strong corticotectal projections from the premotor cortex. A new observation was that strong corticotectal projections were also found to originate from the supplementary motor area (its proper division). The corticotectal projection from the primary motor cortex was quantitatively less strong than that from either the premotor or supplementary motor areas. The corticotectal projection from each motor area was directed mainly to the deep layer of the superior colliculus, although its intermediate layer was also a consistent target of fairly dense terminations. The strong corticotectal projections from non-primary motor areas are in position to influence the preparation and planning of voluntary movements. PMID:28921678

  14. Theta burst magnetic stimulation over the pre-supplementary motor area improves motor inhibition.

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    Obeso, Ignacio; Wilkinson, Leonora; Teo, James T; Talelli, Penelope; Rothwell, John C; Jahanshahi, Marjan

    Stopping an ongoing motor response or resolving conflict induced by conflicting stimuli are associated with activation of a right-lateralized network of inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) and subthalamic nucleus (STN). However, the roles of the right IFG and pre-SMA in stopping a movement and in conflict resolution remain unclear. We used continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) to examine the involvement of the right IFG and pre-SMA in inhibition and conflict resolution using the conditional stop signal task. We measured stop signal reaction time (SSRT, measure of reactive inhibition), response delay effect (RDE, measure of proactive action restraint) and conflict induced slowing (CIS, measure of conflict resolution). Stimulation over the pre-SMA resulted in significantly shorter SSRTs (improved inhibition) compared to sham cTBS. This effect was not observed for CIS, RDE, or any other measures. cTBS over the right IFG had no effect on SSRT, CIS, RDE or on any other measure. The improvement of SSRT with cTBS over the pre-SMA suggests its critical contribution to stopping ongoing movements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the supplementary motor area (SMA) influences performance on motor tasks.

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    Hupfeld, K E; Ketcham, C J; Schneider, H D

    2017-03-01

    The supplementary motor area (SMA) is believed to be highly involved in the planning and execution of both simple and complex motor tasks. This study aimed to examine the role of the SMA in planning the movements required to complete reaction time, balance, and pegboard tasks using anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which passes a weak electrical current between two electrodes, in order to modulate neuronal activity. Twenty healthy adults were counterbalanced to receive either tDCS (experimental condition) or no tDCS (control condition) for 3 days. During administration of tDCS, participants performed a balance task significantly faster than controls. After tDCS, subjects significantly improved their simple and choice reaction time. These results demonstrate that the SMA is highly involved in planning and executing fine and gross motor skill tasks and that tDCS is an effective modality for increasing SMA-related performance on these tasks. The findings may be generalizable and therefore indicate implications for future interventions using tDCS as a therapeutic tool.

  16. Working Memory Deficits After Lesions Involving the Supplementary Motor Area

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    Alba Cañas

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The Supplementary Motor Area (SMA—located in the superior and medial aspects of the superior frontal gyrus—is a preferential site of certain brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations, which often provoke the so-called SMA syndrome. The bulk of the literature studying this syndrome has focused on two of its most apparent symptoms: contralateral motor and speech deficits. Surprisingly, little attention has been given to working memory (WM even though neuroimaging studies have implicated the SMA in this cognitive process. Given its relevance for higher-order functions, our main goal was to examine whether WM is compromised in SMA lesions. We also asked whether WM deficits might be reducible to processing speed (PS difficulties. Given the connectivity of the SMA with prefrontal regions related to executive control (EC, as a secondary goal we examined whether SMA lesions also hampered EC. To this end, we tested 12 patients with lesions involving the left (i.e., the dominant SMA. We also tested 12 healthy controls matched with patients for socio-demographic variables. To ensure that the results of this study can be easily transferred and implemented in clinical practice, we used widely-known clinical neuropsychological tests: WM and PS were measured with their respective Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale indexes, and EC was tested with phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks. Non-parametric statistical methods revealed that patients showed deficits in the executive component of WM: they were able to sustain information temporarily but not to mentally manipulate this information. Such WM deficits were not subject to patients' marginal PS impairment. Patients also showed reduced phonemic fluency, which disappeared after controlling for the influence of WM. This observation suggests that SMA damage does not seem to affect cognitive processes engaged by verbal fluency other than WM. In conclusion, WM impairment needs to be considered as part of

  17. cTBS disruption of the supplementary motor area perturbs cortical sequence representation but not behavioural performance.

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    Solopchuk, Oleg; Alamia, Andrea; Dricot, Laurence; Duque, Julie; Zénon, Alexandre

    2017-12-01

    Neuroimaging studies have repeatedly emphasized the role of the supplementary motor area (SMA) in motor sequence learning, but interferential approaches have led to inconsistent findings. Here, we aimed to test the role of the SMA in motor skill learning by combining interferential and neuroimaging techniques. Sixteen subjects were trained on simple finger movement sequences for 4 days. Afterwards, they underwent two neuroimaging sessions, in which they executed both trained and novel sequences. Prior to entering the scanner, the subjects received inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the SMA or a control site. Using multivariate fMRI analysis, we confirmed that motor training enhances the neural representation of motor sequences in the SMA, in accordance with previous findings. However, although SMA inhibition altered sequence representation (i.e. between-sequence decoding accuracy) in this area, behavioural performance remained unimpaired. Our findings question the causal link between the neuroimaging correlate of elementary motor sequence representation in the SMA and sequence generation, calling for a more thorough investigation of the role of this region in performance of learned motor sequences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Similar circuits but different connectivity patterns between the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and supplementary motor area in early Parkinson's disease patients and controls during predictive motor timing.

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    Husárová, Ivica; Mikl, Michal; Lungu, Ovidiu V; Mareček, Radek; Vaníček, Jiří; Bareš, Martin

    2013-10-01

    The cerebellum, basal ganglia (BG), and other cortical regions, such as supplementary motor area (SMA) have emerged as important structures dealing with various aspects of timing, yet the modulation of functional connectivity between them during motor timing tasks remains unexplored. We used dynamic causal modeling to investigate the differences in effective connectivity (EC) between these regions and its modulation by behavioral outcome during a motor timing prediction task in a group of 16 patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD) and 17 healthy controls. Behavioral events (hits and errors) constituted the driving input connected to the cerebellum, and the modulation in connectivity was assessed relative to the hit condition (successful interception of target). The driving input elicited response in the target area, while modulatory input changed the specific connection strength. The neuroimaging data revealed similar structure of intrinsic connectivity in both groups with unidirectional connections from cerebellum to both sides of the BG, from BG to the SMA, and then from SMA to the cerebellum. However, the type of intrinsic connection was different between two groups. In the PD group, the connection between the SMA and cerebellum was inhibitory in comparison to the HC group, where the connection was activated. Furthermore, the modulation of connectivity by the performance in the task was different between the two groups, with decreased connectivity between the cerebellum and left BG and SMA and a more pronounced symmetry of these connections in controls. In the same time, there was an increased EC between the cerebellum and both sides of BG with more pronounced asymmetry (stronger connection with left BG) in patients. In addition, in the PD group the modulatory input strengthened inhibitory connectivity between the SMA and the cerebellum, while in the HC group the excitatory connection was slightly strengthened. Our findings indicate that although early PD

  19. Supplementary motor area and primary auditory cortex activation in an expert break-dancer during the kinesthetic motor imagery of dance to music.

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    Olshansky, Michael P; Bar, Rachel J; Fogarty, Mary; DeSouza, Joseph F X

    2015-01-01

    The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural activity of an expert dancer with 35 years of break-dancing experience during the kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) of dance accompanied by highly familiar and unfamiliar music. The goal of this study was to examine the effect of musical familiarity on neural activity underlying KMI within a highly experienced dancer. In order to investigate this in both primary sensory and motor planning cortical areas, we examined the effects of music familiarity on the primary auditory cortex [Heschl's gyrus (HG)] and the supplementary motor area (SMA). Our findings reveal reduced HG activity and greater SMA activity during imagined dance to familiar music compared to unfamiliar music. We propose that one's internal representations of dance moves are influenced by auditory stimuli and may be specific to a dance style and the music accompanying it.

  20. Body-specific motor imagery of hand actions: neural evidence from right- and left-handers

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    Roel M Willems

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available If motor imagery uses neural structures involved in action execution, then the neural correlates of imagining an action should differ between individuals who tend to execute the action differently. Here we report fMRI data showing that motor imagery is influenced by the way people habitually perform motor actions with their particular bodies; that is, motor imagery is ‘body-specific’ (Casasanto, 2009. During mental imagery for complex hand actions, activation of cortical areas involved in motor planning and execution was left-lateralized in right-handers but right-lateralized in left-handers. We conclude that motor imagery involves the generation of an action plan that is grounded in the participant’s motor habits, not just an abstract representation at the level of the action’s goal. People with different patterns of motor experience form correspondingly different neurocognitive representations of imagined actions.

  1. Cortical motor representation of the rectus femoris does not differ between the left and right hemisphere.

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    Ward, Sarah; Bryant, Adam L; Pietrosimone, Brian; Bennell, Kim L; Clark, Ross; Pearce, Alan J

    2016-06-01

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) involves non-invasive magnetic stimulation of the brain, and can be used to explore the corticomotor excitability and motor representations of skeletal muscles. However there is a lack of motor mapping studies in the lower limb and few conducted in healthy cohorts. The cortical motor representations of muscles can vary between individuals in terms of center position and area despite having a general localized region within the motor cortex. It is important to characterize the normal range for these variables in healthy cohorts to be able to evaluate changes in clinical populations. TMS was used in this cross-sectional study to assess the active motor threshold (AMT) and cortical representation area for rectus femoris in 15 healthy individuals (11M/4F 27.3±5.9years). No differences were found between hemispheres (Left vs. Right P=0.130) for AMT. In terms of y-axis center position no differences were found between hemispheres (Left vs. Right P=0.539), or for the x-axis center position (Left vs. Right P=0.076). Similarly, no differences in calculated area of the motor representation were found (Left vs. Right P=0.699) indicating symmetry between hemispheres. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Early uneven ear input induces long-lasting differences in left-right motor function.

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    Antoine, Michelle W; Zhu, Xiaoxia; Dieterich, Marianne; Brandt, Thomas; Vijayakumar, Sarath; McKeehan, Nicholas; Arezzo, Joseph C; Zukin, R Suzanne; Borkholder, David A; Jones, Sherri M; Frisina, Robert D; Hébert, Jean M

    2018-03-01

    How asymmetries in motor behavior become established normally or atypically in mammals remains unclear. An established model for motor asymmetry that is conserved across mammals can be obtained by experimentally inducing asymmetric striatal dopamine activity. However, the factors that can cause motor asymmetries in the absence of experimental manipulations to the brain remain unknown. Here, we show that mice with inner ear dysfunction display a robust left or right rotational preference, and this motor preference reflects an atypical asymmetry in cortico-striatal neurotransmission. By unilaterally targeting striatal activity with an antagonist of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), a downstream integrator of striatal neurotransmitter signaling, we can reverse or exaggerate rotational preference in these mice. By surgically biasing vestibular failure to one ear, we can dictate the direction of motor preference, illustrating the influence of uneven vestibular failure in establishing the outward asymmetries in motor preference. The inner ear-induced striatal asymmetries identified here intersect with non-ear-induced asymmetries previously linked to lateralized motor behavior across species and suggest that aspects of left-right brain function in mammals can be ontogenetically influenced by inner ear input. Consistent with inner ear input contributing to motor asymmetry, we also show that, in humans with normal ear function, the motor-dominant hemisphere, measured as handedness, is ipsilateral to the ear with weaker vestibular input.

  3. EEG activation differences in the pre-motor cortex and supplementary motor area between normal individuals with high and low traits of autism.

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    Puzzo, Ignazio; Cooper, Nicholas R; Vetter, Petra; Russo, Riccardo

    2010-06-25

    The human mirror neuron system (hMNS) is believed to provide a basic mechanism for social cognition. Event-related desynchronization (ERD) in alpha (8-12Hz) and low beta band (12-20Hz) over sensori-motor cortex has been suggested to index mirror neurons' activity. We tested whether autistic traits revealed by high and low scores on the Autistic Quotient (AQ) in the normal population are linked to variations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) over motor, pre-motor cortex and supplementary motor area (SMA) during action observation. Results revealed that in the low AQ group, the pre-motor cortex and SMA were more active during hand action than static hand observation whereas in the high AQ group the same areas were active both during static and hand action observation. In fact participants with high traits of autism showed greater low beta ERD while observing the static hand than those with low traits and this low beta ERD was not significantly different when they watched hand actions. Over primary motor cortex, the classical alpha and low beta ERD during hand actions relative to static hand observation was found across all participants. These findings suggest that the observation-execution matching system works differently according to the degree of autism traits in the normal population and that this is differentiated in terms of the EEG according to scalp site and bandwidth. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Left frontal meningioangiomatosis associated with type IIIc focal cortical dysplasia causing refractory epilepsy and literature review.

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    Roux, Alexandre; Mellerio, Charles; Lechapt-Zalcman, Emmanuelle; Still, Megan; Zerah, Michel; Bourgeois, Marie; Pallud, Johan

    2018-03-29

    We report the surgical management of a lesional drug-resistant epilepsy caused by a meningioangiomatosis associated with a type IIIc focal cortical dysplasia located in the left supplementary motor area in a young male patient. A first anatomical-based partial surgical resection was performed at 11 years old under general anaesthesia without intraoperative mapping, which allowed for postoperative seizure control (Engel IA) for six years. The patient then presented with intractable right sensatory and aphasic focal onset seizures despite two appropriate antiepileptic drugs. A second functional-based surgical resection was performed using intraoperative cortico-subcortical functional mapping with direct electrical stimulation under awake conditions. A complete surgical resection was performed and a left partial supplementary motor area syndrome was observed. At six postoperative months, the patient is seizure free (Engel IA) with an ongoing decrease in antiepileptic drug therapy. Intraoperative functional brain mapping can be applied to preserve the brain function and networks around a meningioangiomatosis to facilitate the resection of potentially epileptogenic perilesional dysplastic cortex and to tailor the extent of resection to functional boundaries. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. [Hyperlexia in an adult patient with lesions in the left medial frontal lobe].

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    Suzuki, K; Yamadori, A; Kumabe, T; Endo, K; Fujii, T; Yoshimoto, T

    2000-04-01

    A 69-year-old right-handed woman developed a transcortical motor aphasia with hyperlexia following resection of a glioma in the left medial frontal lobe. Neurological examination revealed grasp reflex in the right hand and underutilization of the right upper extremity. An MRI demonstrated lesions in the left medial frontal lobe including the supplementary motor area and the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus, which extended to the anterior part of the body of corpus callosum. Neuropsychologically she was alert and cooperative. She demonstrated transcortical motor aphasia. Her verbal output began with echolalia. Furthermore hyperlexia was observed in daily activities and during examinations. During conversation she suddenly read words written on objects around her which were totally irrelevant to the talk. When she was walking in the ward with an examiner she read words written on a trash bag that passed by and signboards which indicated a name of a room. Her conversation while walking was intermingled with reading words, which was irrelevant to the conversation. She also read time on analog clocks, which were hung on a wall in a watch store. In a naming task, she read words written on objects first and named them upon repeated question about their names. When an examiner opened a newspaper in front of her without any instructions she began reading until the examiner prohibited it. Then she began reading again when an examiner turned the page, although she remembered that she should not read it aloud. She showed mild ideomotor apraxia of a left hand. Utilization behavior, imitation behavior, hypergraphia, or compulsive use of objects was not observed throughout the course. Hyperlexic tendency is a prominent feature of this patient's language output. Hyperlexia was often reported in children with pervasive developmental disorders including autism. There are only a few reports about hyperlexia in adults and some of them were related to diffuse brain dysfunction

  6. Hyperlexia and ambient echolalia in a case of cerebral infarction of the left anterior cingulate cortex and corpus callosum.

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    Suzuki, Tadashi; Itoh, Shouichi; Hayashi, Mototaka; Kouno, Masako; Takeda, Katsuhiko

    2009-10-01

    We report the case of a 69-year-old woman with cerebral infarction in the left anterior cingulate cortex and corpus callosum. She showed hyperlexia, which was a distinctive reading phenomenon, as well as ambient echolalia. Clinical features also included complex disorders such as visual groping, compulsive manipulation of tools, and callosal disconnection syndrome. She read words written on the cover of a book and repeated words emanating from unrelated conversations around her or from hospital announcements. The combination of these two features due to a focal lesion has never been reported previously. The supplementary motor area may control the execution of established subroutines according to external and internal inputs. Hyperlexia as well as the compulsive manipulation of tools could be interpreted as faulty inhibition of preexisting essentially intact motor subroutines by damage to the anterior cingulate cortex reciprocally interconnected with the supplementary motor area.

  7. Reduced Performance During a Sentence Repetition Task by Continuous Theta-Burst Magnetic Stimulation of the Pre-supplementary Motor Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dietrich, Susanne; Hertrich, Ingo; Müller-Dahlhaus, Florian; Ackermann, Hermann; Belardinelli, Paolo; Desideri, Debora; Seibold, Verena C.; Ziemann, Ulf

    2018-01-01

    The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) is engaged in speech comprehension under difficult circumstances such as poor acoustic signal quality or time-critical conditions. Previous studies found that left pre-SMA is activated when subjects listen to accelerated speech. Here, the functional role of pre-SMA was tested for accelerated speech comprehension by inducing a transient “virtual lesion” using continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS). Participants were tested (1) prior to (pre-baseline), (2) 10 min after (test condition for the cTBS effect), and (3) 60 min after stimulation (post-baseline) using a sentence repetition task (formant-synthesized at rates of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 syllables/s). Speech comprehension was quantified by the percentage of correctly reproduced speech material. For high speech rates, subjects showed decreased performance after cTBS of pre-SMA. Regarding the error pattern, the number of incorrect words without any semantic or phonological similarity to the target context increased, while related words decreased. Thus, the transient impairment of pre-SMA seems to affect its inhibitory function that normally eliminates erroneous speech material prior to speaking or, in case of perception, prior to encoding into a semantically/pragmatically meaningful message. PMID:29896086

  8. Reduced Performance During a Sentence Repetition Task by Continuous Theta-Burst Magnetic Stimulation of the Pre-supplementary Motor Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susanne Dietrich

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA is engaged in speech comprehension under difficult circumstances such as poor acoustic signal quality or time-critical conditions. Previous studies found that left pre-SMA is activated when subjects listen to accelerated speech. Here, the functional role of pre-SMA was tested for accelerated speech comprehension by inducing a transient “virtual lesion” using continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS. Participants were tested (1 prior to (pre-baseline, (2 10 min after (test condition for the cTBS effect, and (3 60 min after stimulation (post-baseline using a sentence repetition task (formant-synthesized at rates of 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 syllables/s. Speech comprehension was quantified by the percentage of correctly reproduced speech material. For high speech rates, subjects showed decreased performance after cTBS of pre-SMA. Regarding the error pattern, the number of incorrect words without any semantic or phonological similarity to the target context increased, while related words decreased. Thus, the transient impairment of pre-SMA seems to affect its inhibitory function that normally eliminates erroneous speech material prior to speaking or, in case of perception, prior to encoding into a semantically/pragmatically meaningful message.

  9. Microsurgical and Tractographic Anatomy of the Supplementary Motor Area Complex in Humans.

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    Bozkurt, Baran; Yagmurlu, Kaan; Middlebrooks, Erik H; Karadag, Ali; Ovalioglu, Talat Cem; Jagadeesan, Bharathi; Sandhu, Gauravjot; Tanriover, Necmettin; Grande, Andrew W

    2016-11-01

    To evaluate the microsurgical anatomy of the fiber tract connections of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and pre-SMA, and examine its potential functional role with reference to clinical trials in the literature. Ten postmortem formalin-fixed human brains (20 sides) and 1 cadaveric head were prepared following Klingler's method. The fiber dissection was performed in a stepwise fashion, from lateral to medial and also from medial to lateral, under an operating microscope, with 3D images captured at each stage. Our findings were supported by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging tractography in 2 healthy subjects. The connections of the SMA complex, composed of the pre-SMA and the SMA proper, are composed of short "U" association fibers and the superior longitudinal fasciculus I, cingulum, claustrocortical fibers, callosal fibers, corticospinal tract, frontal aslant tract, and frontostriatal tract. The claustrocortical fibers may play an important role in the integration of motor, language, and limbic functions of the SMA complex. The frontostriatal tract connects the pre-SMA to the putamen and caudate nucleus, and also forms parts of both the internal capsule and the dorsal external capsule. The SMA complex has numerous connections throughout the cerebrum. An understanding of these connections is important for presurgical planning for lesions in the frontal lobe and helps explain symptoms related to SMA injury. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Motor facilitation during observation of implied motion: Evidence for a role of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

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    Mineo, Ludovico; Fetterman, Alexander; Concerto, Carmen; Warren, Michael; Infortuna, Carmenrita; Freedberg, David; Chusid, Eileen; Aguglia, Eugenio; Battaglia, Fortunato

    2018-06-01

    The phenomenon of motor resonance (the increase in motor cortex excitability during observation of actions) has been previously described. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies have demonstrated a similar effect during perception of implied motion (IM). The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) seems to be activated during action observation. Furthermore, the role of this brain area in motor resonance to IM is yet to be investigated. Fourteen healthy volunteers were enrolled into the study. We used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to stimulate DLPFC aiming to investigate whether stimulation with different polarities would affect the amplitude of motor evoked potential collected during observation of images with and without IM. The results of our experiment indicated that Cathodal tDCS over the left DLPFC prevented motor resonance during observation of IM. On the contrary, anodal and sham tDCS did not significantly modulate motor resonance to IM. The current study expands the understanding of the neural circuits engaged during observation of IM. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that action understanding requires the interaction of large networks and that the left DLPFC plays a crucial role in generating motor resonance to IM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Motor imagery training promotes motor learning in adolescents with cerebral palsy: comparison between left and right hemiparesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabral-Sequeira, Audrey Sartori; Coelho, Daniel Boari; Teixeira, Luis Augusto

    2016-06-01

    This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of pure motor imagery training (MIT) and its combination with physical practice on learning an aiming task with the more affected arm in adolescents suffering from cerebral palsy. Effect of MIT was evaluated as a function of side of hemiparesis. The experiment was accomplished by 11- to 16-year-old participants (M = 13.58 years), who suffered left (n = 16) or right (n = 15) mild hemiparesis. They were exposed to pure MIT (day 1) followed by physical practice (day 2) on an aiming task demanding movement accuracy and speed. Posttraining movement kinematics of the group receiving MIT were compared with movement kinematics of the control group after receiving recreational activities (day 1) and physical practice (day 2). Kinematic analysis showed that MIT led to decreased movement time and straighter hand displacements to the target. Performance achievements from MIT were increased with further physical practice, leading to enhanced effects on motor learning. Retention evaluation indicated that performance improvement from pure MIT and its combination with physical practice were stable over time. Performance achievements were equivalent between adolescents with either right or left hemiparesis, suggesting similar capacity between these groups to achieve performance improvement from pure imagery training and from its association with physical practice. Our results suggest that motor imagery training is a procedure potentially useful to increase motor learning achievements in individuals suffering from cerebral palsy.

  12. Selective left, right and bilateral stimulation of subthalamic nuclei in Parkinson's disease: differential effects on motor, speech and language function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Geralyn M; Hosey, Lara A; Bradberry, Trent J; Stager, Sheila V; Lee, Li-Ching; Pawha, Rajesh; Lyons, Kelly E; Metman, Leo Verhagen; Braun, Allen R

    2012-01-01

    Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but may produce a worsening of speech and language performance at rates and amplitudes typically selected in clinical practice. The possibility that these dissociated effects might be modulated by selective stimulation of left and right STN has never been systematically investigated. To address this issue, we analyzed motor, speech and language functions of 12 patients implanted with bilateral stimulators configured for optimal motor responses. Behavioral responses were quantified under four stimulator conditions: bilateral DBS, right-only DBS, left-only DBS and no DBS. Under bilateral and left-only DBS conditions, our results exhibited a significant improvement in motor symptoms but worsening of speech and language. These findings contribute to the growing body of literature demonstrating that bilateral STN DBS compromises speech and language function and suggests that these negative effects may be principally due to left-sided stimulation. These findings may have practical clinical consequences, suggesting that clinicians might optimize motor, speech and language functions by carefully adjusting left- and right-sided stimulation parameters.

  13. D2 receptor genotype and striatal dopamine signaling predict motor cortical activity and behavior in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazio, Leonardo; Blasi, Giuseppe; Taurisano, Paolo; Papazacharias, Apostolos; Romano, Raffaella; Gelao, Barbara; Ursini, Gianluca; Quarto, Tiziana; Lo Bianco, Luciana; Di Giorgio, Annabella; Mancini, Marina; Popolizio, Teresa; Rubini, Giuseppe; Bertolino, Alessandro

    2011-02-14

    Pre-synaptic D2 receptors regulate striatal dopamine release and DAT activity, key factors for modulation of motor pathways. A functional SNP of DRD2 (rs1076560 G>T) is associated with alternative splicing such that the relative expression of D2S (mainly pre-synaptic) vs. D2L (mainly post-synaptic) receptor isoforms is decreased in subjects with the T allele with a putative increase of striatal dopamine levels. To evaluate how DRD2 genotype and striatal dopamine signaling predict motor cortical activity and behavior in humans, we have investigated the association of rs1076560 with BOLD fMRI activity during a motor task. To further evaluate the relationship of this circuitry with dopamine signaling, we also explored the correlation between genotype based differences in motor brain activity and pre-synaptic striatal DAT binding measured with [(123)I] FP-CIT SPECT. Fifty healthy subjects, genotyped for DRD2 rs1076560 were studied with BOLD-fMRI at 3T while performing a visually paced motor task with their right hand; eleven of these subjects also underwent [(123)I]FP-CIT SPECT. SPM5 random-effects models were used for statistical analyses. Subjects carrying the T allele had greater BOLD responses in left basal ganglia, thalamus, supplementary motor area, and primary motor cortex, whose activity was also negatively correlated with reaction time at the task. Moreover, left striatal DAT binding and activity of left supplementary motor area were negatively correlated. The present results suggest that DRD2 genetic variation was associated with focusing of responses in the whole motor network, in which activity of predictable nodes was correlated with reaction time and with striatal pre-synaptic dopamine signaling. Our results in humans may help shed light on genetic risk for neurobiological mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of disorders with dysregulation of striatal dopamine like Parkinson's disease. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Enhancement Of Motor Recovery Through Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Stimulation After Acute Ischemic Stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahram Oveisgharan

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Two previous studies, which investigated transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS use in motor recovery after acute ischemic stroke, did not show tDCS to be effective in this regard. We speculated that additional left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex ‎(DLPFC ‎stimulation may enhance post stroke motor recovery.  ‎ Methods: In the present randomized clinical trial, 20 acute ischemic stroke patients were recruited. Patients received real motor cortex (M1 stimulation in both arms of the trial. The two arms differed in terms of real vs. sham stimulation over the left DLPFC‎. Motor component of the Fugl-Meyer upper extremity assessment (FM and Action Research Arm Test (ARAT scores were used to assess primary outcomes, and non-linear mixed effects models were used for data analyses. Results: Primary outcome measures improved more and faster among the real stimulation group. During the first days of stimulations, sham group’s FM scores increased 1.2 scores per day, while real group’s scores increased 1.7 scores per day (P = 0.003. In the following days, FM improvement decelerated in both groups. Based on the derived models, a hypothetical stroke patient with baseline FM score of 15 improves to 32 in the sham stimulation group and to 41 in the real stimulation group within the first month after stroke. Models with ARAT scores yielded nearly similar results. Conclusion: The current study results showed that left DLPFC‎ stimulation in conjunction with M1 stimulation resulted in better motor recovery than M1 stimulation alone.

  15. Cognitive alterations in motor imagery process after left hemispheric ischemic stroke.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Yan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Motor imagery training is a promising rehabilitation strategy for stroke patients. However, few studies had focused on the neural mechanisms in time course of its cognitive process. This study investigated the cognitive alterations after left hemispheric ischemic stroke during motor imagery task. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eleven patients with ischemic stroke in left hemisphere and eleven age-matched control subjects participated in mental rotation task (MRT of hand pictures. Behavior performance, event-related potential (ERP and event-related (desynchronization (ERD/ERS in beta band were analyzed to investigate the cortical activation. We found that: (1 The response time increased with orientation angles in both groups, called "angle effect", however, stoke patients' responses were impaired with significantly longer response time and lower accuracy rate; (2 In early visual perceptual cognitive process, stroke patients showed hypo-activations in frontal and central brain areas in aspects of both P200 and ERD; (3 During mental rotation process, P300 amplitude in control subjects decreased while angle increased, called "amplitude modulation effect", which was not observed in stroke patients. Spatially, patients showed significant lateralization of P300 with activation only in contralesional (right parietal cortex while control subjects showed P300 in both parietal lobes. Stroke patients also showed an overall cortical hypo-activation of ERD during this sub-stage; (4 In the response sub-stage, control subjects showed higher ERD values with more activated cortical areas particularly in the right hemisphere while angle increased, named "angle effect", which was not observed in stroke patients. In addition, stroke patients showed significant lower ERD for affected hand (right response than that for unaffected hand. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Cortical activation was altered differently in each cognitive sub-stage of motor imagery after

  16. Modulation of left primary motor cortex excitability after bimanual training and intermittent theta burst stimulation to left dorsal premotor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neva, Jason L; Vesia, Michael; Singh, Amaya M; Staines, W Richard

    2014-03-15

    Bimanual visuomotor movement training (BMT) enhances the excitability of human preparatory premotor and primary motor (M1) cortices compared to unimanual movement. This occurs when BMT involves mirror symmetrical movements of both upper-limbs (in-phase) but not with non-symmetrical movements (anti-phase). The neural mechanisms mediating the effect of BMT is unclear, but may involve interhemispheric connections between homologous M1 representations as well as the dorsal premotor cortices (PMd). The purpose of this study is to assess how intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) of the left PMd affects left M1 excitability, and the possible combined effects of iTBS to left PMd applied before a single session of BMT. Left M1 excitability was quantified using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in terms of both the amplitudes and spatial extent of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) for the extensor carpi radialis (ECR) before and multiple time points following (1) BMT, (2) iTBS to left PMd or (3) iTBS to left PMd and BMT. Although there was not a greater increase in either specific measure of M1 excitability due to the combination of the interventions, iTBS applied before BMT showed that both the spatial extent and global MEP amplitude for the ECR became larger in parallel, whereas the spatial extent was enhanced with BMT alone and global MEP amplitude was enhanced with iTBS to left PMd alone. These results suggest that the modulation of rapid functional M1 excitability associated with BMT and iTBS of the left PMd could operate under related early markers of neuro-plastic mechanisms, which may be expressed in concurrent and distinct patterns of M1 excitability. Critically, this work may guide rehabilitation training and stimulation techniques that modulate cortical excitability after brain injury. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Convergence of human brain mapping tools: neuronavigated TMS parameters and fMRI activity in the hand motor area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarfeld, Anna-Sophia; Diekhoff, Svenja; Wang, Ling E; Liuzzi, Gianpiero; Uludağ, Kamil; Eickhoff, Simon B; Fink, Gereon R; Grefkes, Christian

    2012-05-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are well-established tools for investigating the human motor system in-vivo. We here studied the relationship between movement-related fMRI signal changes in the primary motor cortex (M1) and electrophysiological properties of the hand motor area assessed with neuronavigated TMS in 17 healthy subjects. The voxel showing the highest task-related BOLD response in the left hand motor area during right hand movements was identified for each individual subject. This fMRI peak voxel in M1 served as spatial target for coil positioning during neuronavigated TMS. We performed correlation analyses between TMS parameters, BOLD signal estimates and effective connectivity parameters of M1 assessed with dynamic causal modeling (DCM). The results showed a negative correlation between the movement-related BOLD signal in left M1 and resting as well as active motor threshold (MT) obtained for left M1. The DCM analysis revealed that higher excitability of left M1 was associated with a stronger coupling between left supplementary motor area (SMA) and M1. Furthermore, BOLD activity in left M1 correlated with ipsilateral silent period (ISP), i.e. the stronger the task-related BOLD response in left M1, the higher interhemispheric inhibition effects targeting right M1. DCM analyses revealed a positive correlation between the coupling of left SMA with left M1 and the duration of ISP. The data show that TMS parameters assessed for the hand area of M1 do not only reflect the intrinsic properties at the stimulation site but also interactions with remote areas in the human motor system. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  18. Cortical disconnection of the ipsilesional primary motor cortex is associated with gait speed and upper extremity motor impairment in chronic left hemispheric stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Denise M; Fridriksson, Julius; Stewart, Jill C; Richardson, Jessica D; Rorden, Chris; Bonilha, Leonardo; Middleton, Addie; Gleichgerrcht, Ezequiel; Fritz, Stacy L

    2018-01-01

    Advances in neuroimaging have enabled the mapping of white matter connections across the entire brain, allowing for a more thorough examination of the extent of white matter disconnection after stroke. To assess how cortical disconnection contributes to motor impairments, we examined the relationship between structural brain connectivity and upper and lower extremity motor function in individuals with chronic stroke. Forty-three participants [mean age: 59.7 (±11.2) years; time poststroke: 64.4 (±58.8) months] underwent clinical motor assessments and MRI scanning. Nonparametric correlation analyses were performed to examine the relationship between structural connectivity amid a subsection of the motor network and upper/lower extremity motor function. Standard multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between cortical necrosis and disconnection of three main cortical areas of motor control [primary motor cortex (M1), premotor cortex (PMC), and supplementary motor area (SMA)] and motor function. Anatomical connectivity between ipsilesional M1/SMA and the (1) cerebral peduncle, (2) thalamus, and (3) red nucleus were significantly correlated with upper and lower extremity motor performance (P ≤ 0.003). M1-M1 interhemispheric connectivity was also significantly correlated with gross manual dexterity of the affected upper extremity (P = 0.001). Regression models with M1 lesion load and M1 disconnection (adjusted for time poststroke) explained a significant amount of variance in upper extremity motor performance (R 2  = 0.36-0.46) and gait speed (R 2  = 0.46), with M1 disconnection an independent predictor of motor performance. Cortical disconnection, especially of ipsilesional M1, could significantly contribute to variability seen in locomotor and upper extremity motor function and recovery in chronic stroke. Hum Brain Mapp 39:120-132, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Early and late changes in the distal forelimb representation of the supplementary motor area after injury to frontal motor areas in the squirrel monkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisner-Janowicz, Ines; Barbay, Scott; Hoover, Erica; Stowe, Ann M; Frost, Shawn B; Plautz, Erik J; Nudo, Randolph J

    2008-09-01

    Neuroimaging studies in stroke survivors have suggested that adaptive plasticity occurs following stroke. However, the complex temporal dynamics of neural reorganization after injury make the interpretation of functional imaging studies equivocal. In the present study in adult squirrel monkeys, intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) techniques were used to monitor changes in representational maps of the distal forelimb in the supplementary motor area (SMA) after a unilateral ischemic infarct of primary motor (M1) and premotor distal forelimb representations (DFLs). In each animal, ICMS maps were derived at early (3 wk) and late (13 wk) postinfarct stages. Lesions resulted in severe deficits in motor abilities on a reach and retrieval task. Limited behavioral recovery occurred and plateaued at 3 wk postinfarct. At both early and late postinfarct stages, distal forelimb movements could still be evoked by ICMS in SMA at low current levels. However, the size of the SMA DFL changed after the infarct. In particular, wrist-forearm representations enlarged significantly between early and late stages, attaining a size substantially larger than the preinfarct area. At the late postinfarct stage, the expansion in the SMA DFL area was directly proportional to the absolute size of the lesion. The motor performance scores were positively correlated to the absolute size of the SMA DFL at the late postinfarct stage. Together, these data suggest that, at least in squirrel monkeys, descending output from M1 and dorsal and ventral premotor cortices is not necessary for SMA representations to be maintained and that SMA motor output maps undergo delayed increases in representational area after damage to other motor areas. Finally, the role of SMA in recovery of function after such lesions remains unclear because behavioral recovery appears to precede neurophysiological map changes.

  20. Functional asymmetries in early learning during right, left, and bimanual performance in right-handed subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aznárez-Sanado, Maite; Fernández-Seara, Maria A; Loayza, Francis R; Pastor, Maria A

    2013-03-01

    To elucidate differences in activity and connectivity during early learning due to the performing hand. Twenty right-handed subjects were recruited. The neural correlates of explicit visuospatial learning executed with the right, the left hand, and bimanually were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Connectivity analyses were carried out using the psychophysiological interactions model, considering right and left anterior putamen as index regions. A common neural network was found for the three tasks during learning. Main activity increases were located in posterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, parietal cortex, anterior putamen, and cerebellum (IV-V), whereas activity decrements were observed in prefrontal regions. However, the left hand task showed a greater recruitment of left hippocampal areas when compared with the other tasks. In addition, enhanced connectivity between the right anterior putamen and motor cortical and cerebellar regions was found for the left hand when compared with the right hand task. An additional recruitment of brain regions and increased striato-cortical and striato-cerebellar functional connections is needed when early learning is performed with the nondominant hand. In addition, access to brain resources during learning may be directed by the dominant hand in the bimanual task. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Neurofeedback-induced facilitation of the supplementary motor area affects postural stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujimoto, Hiroaki; Mihara, Masahito; Hattori, Noriaki; Hatakenaka, Megumi; Yagura, Hajime; Kawano, Teiji; Miyai, Ichiro; Mochizuki, Hideki

    2017-10-01

    Near-infrared spectroscopy-mediated neurofeedback (NIRS-NFB) is a promising therapeutic intervention for patients with neurological diseases. Studies have shown that NIRS-NFB can facilitate task-related cortical activation and induce task-specific behavioral changes. These findings indicate that the effect of neuromodulation depends on local cortical function. However, when the target cortical region has multiple functions, our understanding of the effects is less clear. This is true in the supplementary motor area (SMA), which is involved both in postural control and upper-limb movement. To address this issue, we investigated the facilitatory effect of NIRS SMA neurofeedback on cortical activity and behavior, without any specific task. Twenty healthy individuals participated in real and sham neurofeedback. Balance and hand dexterity were assessed before and after each NIRS-NFB session. We found a significant interaction between assessment periods (pre/post) and condition (real/sham) with respect to balance as assessed by the center of the pressure path length but not for hand dexterity as assessed by the 9-hole peg test. SMA activity only increased during real neurofeedback. Our findings indicate that NIRS-NFB itself has the potential to modulate focal cortical activation, and we suggest that it be considered a therapy to facilitate the SMA for patients with postural impairment.

  2. Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Area Promotes Implicit Motor Learning in a Golf Putting Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Frank F; Yeung, Andrew Y; Poolton, Jamie M; Lee, Tatia M C; Leung, Gilberto K K; Masters, Rich S W

    2015-01-01

    Implicit motor learning is characterized by low dependence on working memory and stable performance despite stress, fatigue, or multi-tasking. However, current paradigms for implicit motor learning are based on behavioral interventions that are often task-specific and limited when applied in practice. To investigate whether cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area during motor learning suppressed working memory activity and reduced explicit verbal-analytical involvement in movement control, thereby promoting implicit motor learning. Twenty-seven healthy individuals practiced a golf putting task during a Training Phase while receiving either real cathodal tDCS stimulation over the left DLPFC area or sham stimulation. Their performance was assessed during a Test phase on another day. Verbal working memory capacity was assessed before and after the Training Phase, and before the Test Phase. Compared to sham stimulation, real stimulation suppressed verbal working memory activity after the Training Phase, but enhanced golf putting performance during the Training Phase and the Test Phase, especially when participants were required to multi-task. Cathodal tDCS over the left DLPFC may foster implicit motor learning and performance in complex real-life motor tasks that occur during sports, surgery or motor rehabilitation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Role of association cortices and cerebellum during motor consolidation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagata, Ken; Wright, David K.; Box, Georgia A.

    2008-01-01

    Positron emission tomography (PET) studies of cerebral circulation activated during the first (naive) and second (learned) visual-motor tasks were performed to confirm the hypothesis that activated brain regions are different before and after the motor work. Subjects were 30 normal healthy right-handed volunteers (av. age 21 y), who had the first 10 tasks of cursor tracing (regular tracing, rt), as rapidly and accurately as possible, along the given star features and then second 15 tasks of tracing with the cursor with inverse polarity (mirror tracing, mt). During the tasks, PET images were obtained at 7th and 9th rt, and 10 times (1st-15th) during mt, with the high-resolution positron camera (HEADTOME V) to measure the cerebral blood flow after intravenous 15 O-water and were processed into 3D for statistics. At the 1st mt (under the most unfamiliar condition), stimulated were the right frontal and supplementary motor areas and temporal lobe, bilateral centriciput lobe, anterior cingulated gyrus, and left cerebellum hemisphere. Under the learned condition (at 15th mt), the primary motor area, lingual gyrus, cuneus, anterior cuneus, occipital lobe involving posterior cingulated gyrus and left cerebellum hemisphere were activated. Thus the hypothesis above was confirmed: reconfirmation of the brain plasticity. (R.T.)

  4. Supplementary Motor Area Activation in Disfluency Perception : An fMRI Study of Listener Neural Responses to Spontaneously Produced Unfilled and Filled Pauses

    OpenAIRE

    Eklund, Robert; Ingvar, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Spontaneously produced Unfilled Pauses (UPs) and Filled Pauses (FPs) were played to subjects in an fMRI experiment. For both stimuli increased activity was observed in the Primary Auditory Cortex (PAC). However, FPs, but not UPs, elicited modulation in the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), Brodmann Area 6. Our results provide neurocognitive confirmation of the alleged difference between FPs and other kinds of speech disfluency and could also provide a partial explanation for the previously repo...

  5. Functional MR imaging of the motor cortex in healthy volunteers and patients with brain tumours: qualitative and quantitative results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fellner, C.; Friedrich-Alexander-Univ., Erlangen-Nuernberg; Schlaier, J.; Schwerdtner, J.; Brawanski, A.; Fellner, F.; Oberoesterreichische Landesnervenklinik, Linz; Held, P.; Blank, M.; Kalender, W.A.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the motor cortex in healthy volunteers and patients with brain tumours. Functional MR imaging was performed in 14 healthy volunteers and 14 patients with tumours in or near the primary motor cortex with groups being matched for age, sex, and handedness. Functional images were acquired during motion of the right and left hand. Time courses of signal intensity within the contralateral, ipsilateral, and supplementary motor cortex as well as z-maps were calculated, their quality being assessed visually. Mean signal increase between activation and rest were evaluated within the contralateral, ipsilateral, and supplementary motor cortex, the activated area in those regions of interest was measured using z-maps. The quality of functional MR experiments was generally lower in patients than in volunteers. The quantitative results showed a trend towards increased ipsilateral activation in volunteers during left hand compared to right hand motion and in patients during motion of the affected compared to the non-affected hand. Considering quantitative and qualitative results, significantly increased ipsilateral activation was found in patients compared to healthy volunteers. In conclusion, functional MR imaging quality was significantly reduced in patient studies compared to healthy volunteers, even if influences of age, sex, and handedness were excluded. Increased ipsilateral activation was found in patients with brain tumours which can be interpreted by an improved connectivity between both hemispheres. (orig.) [de

  6. Awake Surgery for a Violin Player: Monitoring Motor and Music Performance, A Case Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piai, Vitória; Vos, Sandra H; Idelberger, Reinhard; Gans, Pauline; Doorduin, Jonne; Ter Laan, Mark

    2018-02-27

    We report the case of a professional violin player who underwent an awake craniotomy to resect a tumor in the left supplementary motor area, an area involved in motor planning. A careful pre- and intraoperative monitoring plan for music performance and complex motor function was established that could be used in combination with cortical stimulation. The patient suffered an epileptic seizure during cortical stimulation. The monitoring of complex motor and musical functions was implemented with the patient playing the violin while the resection was performed. Almost complete resection was achieved with no notable postoperative deficits contributing to functional impairment. The multidisciplinary approach, involving neurosurgery, neuropsychology, anesthesiology, and clinical neurophysiology, allowed us to successfully cope with the theoretical and practical challenges associated with tailored care for a professional musician. The music and motor monitoring plan is reported in detail to enable other sites to reproduce and adapt it accordingly.

  7. Palilalia, echolalia, and echopraxia-palipraxia as ictal manifestations in a patient with left frontal lobe epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Yang-Je; Han, Sang-Don; Song, Sook Keun; Lee, Byung In; Heo, Kyoung

    2009-06-01

    Palilalia is a relatively rare pathologic speech behavior and has been reported in various neurologic and psychiatric disorders. We encountered a case of palilalia, echolalia, and echopraxia-palipraxia as ictal phenomena of left frontal lobe epilepsy. A 55-year-old, right-handed man was admitted because of frequent episodes of rapid reiteration of syllables. Video-electroencephalography monitoring revealed stereotypical episodes of palilalia accompanied by rhythmic head nodding and right-arm posturing with ictal discharges over the left frontocentral area. He also displayed echolalia or echopraxia-palipraxia, partially responding to an examiner's stimulus. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed encephalomalacia on the left superior frontal gyrus and ictal single photon emission computed tomography showed hyperperfusion just above the lesion, corresponding to the left supplementary motor area (SMA), and subcortical nuclei. This result suggests that the neuroanatomic substrate involved in the generation of these behaviors as ictal phenomena might exist in the SMA of the left frontal lobe.

  8. Left cytoarchitectonic BA 44 processes syntactic gender violations in determiner phrases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heim, Stefan; van Ermingen, Muna; Huber, Walter; Amunts, Katrin

    2010-10-01

    Recent neuroimaging studies make contradictory predictions about the involvement of left Brodmann's area (BA) 44 in processing local syntactic violations in determiner phrases (DPs). Some studies suggest a role for BA 44 in detecting local syntactic violations, whereas others attribute this function to the left premotor cortex. Therefore, the present event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated whether left-cytoarchitectonic BA 44 was activated when German DPs involving syntactic gender violations were compared with correct DPs (correct: 'der Baum'-the[masculine] tree[masculine]; violated: 'das Baum'--the[neuter] tree[masculine]). Grammaticality judgements were made for both visual and auditory DPs to be able to generalize the results across modalities. Grammaticality judgements involved, among others, left BA 44 and left BA 6 in the premotor cortex for visual and auditory stimuli. Most importantly, activation in left BA 44 was consistently higher for violated than for correct DPs. This finding was behaviourally corroborated by longer reaction times for violated versus correct DPs. Additional brain regions, showing the same effect, included left premotor cortex, supplementary motor area, right middle and superior frontal cortex, and left cerebellum. Based on earlier findings from the literature, the results indicate the involvement of left BA 44 in processing local syntactic violations when these include morphological features, whereas left premotor cortex seems crucial for the detection of local word category violations. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  9. Electroencephalographic (eeg coherence between visual and motor areas of the left and the right brain hemisphere while performing visuomotor task with the right and the left hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Brežan

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Unilateral limb movements are based on the activation of contralateral primary motor cortex and the bilateral activation of premotor cortices. Performance of a visuomotor task requires a visuomotor integration between motor and visual cortical areas. The functional integration (»binding« of different brain areas, is probably mediated by the synchronous neuronal oscillatory activity, which can be determined by electroencephalographic (EEG coherence analysis. We introduced a new method of coherence analysis and compared coherence and power spectra in the left and right hemisphere for the right vs. left hand visuomotor task, hypothesizing that the increase in coherence and decrease in power spectra while performing the task would be greater in the contralateral hemisphere.Methods: We analyzed 6 healthy subjects and recorded their electroencephalogram during visuomotor task with the right or the left hand. For data analysis, a special Matlab computer programme was designed. The results were statistically analysed by a two-way analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and post-hoc t-tests with Bonferroni correction.Results: We demonstrated a significant increase in coherence (p < 0.05 for the visuomotor task compared to control tasks in alpha (8–13 Hz in beta 1 (13–20 Hz frequency bands between visual and motor electrodes. There were no significant differences in coherence nor power spectra depending on the hand used. The changes of coherence and power spectra between both hemispheres were symmetrical.Conclusions: In previous studies, a specific increase of coherence and decrease of power spectra for the visuomotor task was found, but we found no conclusive asymmetries when performing the task with right vs. left hand. This could be explained in a way that increases in coherence and decreases of power spectra reflect symmetrical activation and cooperation between more complex visual and motor brain areas.

  10. The "handwriting brain": a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies of motor versus orthographic processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planton, Samuel; Jucla, Mélanie; Roux, Franck-Emmanuel; Démonet, Jean-François

    2013-01-01

    Handwriting is a modality of language production whose cerebral substrates remain poorly known although the existence of specific regions is postulated. The description of brain damaged patients with agraphia and, more recently, several neuroimaging studies suggest the involvement of different brain regions. However, results vary with the methodological choices made and may not always discriminate between "writing-specific" and motor or linguistic processes shared with other abilities. We used the "Activation Likelihood Estimate" (ALE) meta-analytical method to identify the cerebral network of areas commonly activated during handwriting in 18 neuroimaging studies published in the literature. Included contrasts were also classified according to the control tasks used, whether non-specific motor/output-control or linguistic/input-control. These data were included in two secondary meta-analyses in order to reveal the functional role of the different areas of this network. An extensive, mainly left-hemisphere network of 12 cortical and sub-cortical areas was obtained; three of which were considered as primarily writing-specific (left superior frontal sulcus/middle frontal gyrus area, left intraparietal sulcus/superior parietal area, right cerebellum) while others related rather to non-specific motor (primary motor and sensorimotor cortex, supplementary motor area, thalamus and putamen) or linguistic processes (ventral premotor cortex, posterior/inferior temporal cortex). This meta-analysis provides a description of the cerebral network of handwriting as revealed by various types of neuroimaging experiments and confirms the crucial involvement of the left frontal and superior parietal regions. These findings provide new insights into cognitive processes involved in handwriting and their cerebral substrates. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. 77 FR 4396 - Petition for Exemption From the Federal Motor Vehicle Motor Theft Prevention Standard; Toyota

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-27

    ... From the Federal Motor Vehicle Motor Theft Prevention Standard; Toyota AGENCY: National Highway Traffic... exemption. SUMMARY: This document grants in full the petition of Toyota Motor North America, Inc's., (Toyota.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a petition dated September 30, 2011, Toyota requested an exemption from the parts...

  12. Brain changes following four weeks of unimanual motor training: Evidence from behavior, neural stimulation, cortical thickness, and functional MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sale, Martin V; Reid, Lee B; Cocchi, Luca; Pagnozzi, Alex M; Rose, Stephen E; Mattingley, Jason B

    2017-09-01

    Although different aspects of neuroplasticity can be quantified with behavioral probes, brain stimulation, and brain imaging assessments, no study to date has combined all these approaches into one comprehensive assessment of brain plasticity. Here, 24 healthy right-handed participants practiced a sequence of finger-thumb opposition movements for 10 min each day with their left hand. After 4 weeks, performance for the practiced sequence improved significantly (P left (mean increase: 53.0% practiced, 6.5% control) and right (21.0%; 15.8%) hands. Training also induced significant (cluster p-FWE right hemisphere, 301 voxel cluster; left hemisphere 700 voxel cluster), and sensorimotor cortices and superior parietal lobules (right hemisphere 864 voxel cluster; left hemisphere, 1947 voxel cluster). Transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right ("trained") primary motor cortex yielded a 58.6% mean increase in a measure of motor evoked potential amplitude, as recorded at the left abductor pollicis brevis muscle. Cortical thickness analyses based on structural MRI suggested changes in the right precentral gyrus, right post central gyrus, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and potentially the right supplementary motor area. Such findings are consistent with LTP-like neuroplastic changes in areas that were already responsible for finger sequence execution, rather than improved recruitment of previously nonutilized tissue. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4773-4787, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Agricultural Electricity. Electric Motors. Student Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Robert T.

    Addressed to the student, this manual, which includes supplementary diagrams, discusses the following topics and principles: Electromagnetic fields, electromagnets, parts of an electric motor, determining speed of an electric motor, types of electric motors in common use (split-phase, capacitor, repulsion-induction, three-phase), the electric…

  14. STN-stimulation in Parkinson's disease restores striatal inhibition of thalamocortical projection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geday, Jacob; Østergaard, Karen; Johnsen, Erik

    2009-01-01

    To test the hypothesis that deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) restores the inhibitory output to the striatothalamocortical loop in Parkinson's disease, we obtained functional brain images of blood flow in 10 STN-stimulated patients with Parkinson's disease. Patients were...... in the STN and in the left nucleus lentiformis. Conversely, flow declined in the left supplementary motor area (BA 6), ventrolateral nucleus of the left thalamus, and right cerebellum. Activation of the basal ganglia and deactivation of supplementary motor area and thalamus were both correlated...... with the improvement of motor function. The result is consistent with the explanation that stimulation in resting patients raises output from the STN with activation of the inhibitory basal ganglia output nuclei and subsequent deactivation of the thalamic anteroventral and ventrolateral nuclei and the supplementary...

  15. Brain changes following four weeks of unimanual motor training: Evidence from fMRI-guided diffusion MRI tractography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Lee B; Sale, Martin V; Cunnington, Ross; Mattingley, Jason B; Rose, Stephen E

    2017-09-01

    We have reported reliable changes in behavior, brain structure, and function in 24 healthy right-handed adults who practiced a finger-thumb opposition sequence task with their left hand for 10 min daily, over 4 weeks. Here, we extend these findings by using diffusion MRI to investigate white-matter changes in the corticospinal tract, basal-ganglia, and connections of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Twenty-three participant datasets were available with pre-training and post-training scans. Task performance improved in all participants (mean: 52.8%, SD: 20.0%; group P right caudate nucleus (4.9%; P left nucleus accumbens (-1.3%; P right corticospinal tract (mean 3.28%; P left corticospinal tract did not show any changes. FA also increased in white matter connections between the right middle frontal gyrus and both right caudate nucleus (17/22 participants; P right supplementary motor area (18/22 participants; P left (non-trained) hemisphere. In combination with our functional and structural findings, this study provides detailed, multifocal evidence for widespread neuroplastic changes in the human brain resulting from motor training. Hum Brain Mapp 38:4302-4312, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Changes in Cerebral Hemodynamics during Complex Motor Learning by Character Entry into Touch-Screen Terminals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akira Sagari

    Full Text Available Studies of cerebral hemodynamics during motor learning have mostly focused on neurorehabilitation interventions and their effectiveness. However, only a few imaging studies of motor learning and the underlying complex cognitive processes have been performed.We measured cerebral hemodynamics using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS in relation to acquisition patterns of motor skills in healthy subjects using character entry into a touch-screen terminal. Twenty healthy, right-handed subjects who had no previous experience with character entry using a touch-screen terminal participated in this study. They were asked to enter the characters of a randomly formed Japanese syllabary into the touch-screen terminal. All subjects performed the task with their right thumb for 15 s alternating with 25 s of rest for 30 repetitions. Performance was calculated by subtracting the number of incorrect answers from the number of correct answers, and gains in motor skills were evaluated according to the changes in performance across cycles. Behavioral and oxygenated hemoglobin concentration changes across task cycles were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlations.Performance correlated positively with task cycle, thus confirming motor learning. Hemodynamic activation over the left sensorimotor cortex (SMC showed a positive correlation with task cycle, whereas activations over the right prefrontal cortex (PFC and supplementary motor area (SMA showed negative correlations.We suggest that increases in finger momentum with motor learning are reflected in the activity of the left SMC. We further speculate that the right PFC and SMA were activated during the early phases of motor learning, and that this activity was attenuated with learning progress.

  17. Neural noise and movement-related codes in the macaque supplementary motor area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Averbeck, Bruno B; Lee, Daeyeol

    2003-08-20

    We analyzed the variability of spike counts and the coding capacity of simultaneously recorded pairs of neurons in the macaque supplementary motor area (SMA). We analyzed the mean-variance functions for single neurons, as well as signal and noise correlations between pairs of neurons. All three statistics showed a strong dependence on the bin width chosen for analysis. Changes in the correlation structure of single neuron spike trains over different bin sizes affected the mean-variance function, and signal and noise correlations between pairs of neurons were much smaller at small bin widths, increasing monotonically with the width of the bin. Analyses in the frequency domain showed that the noise between pairs of neurons, on average, was most strongly correlated at low frequencies, which explained the increase in noise correlation with increasing bin width. The coding performance was analyzed to determine whether the temporal precision of spike arrival times and the interactions within and between neurons could improve the prediction of the upcoming movement. We found that in approximately 62% of neuron pairs, the arrival times of spikes at a resolution between 66 and 40 msec carried more information than spike counts in a 200 msec bin. In addition, in 19% of neuron pairs, inclusion of within (11%)- or between-neuron (8%) correlations in spike trains improved decoding accuracy. These results suggest that in some SMA neurons elements of the spatiotemporal pattern of activity may be relevant for neural coding.

  18. An Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis Study of Simple Motor Movements in Older and Young Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turesky, Ted K.; Turkeltaub, Peter E.; Eden, Guinevere F.

    2016-01-01

    The functional neuroanatomy of finger movements has been characterized with neuroimaging in young adults. However, less is known about the aging motor system. Several studies have contrasted movement-related activity in older versus young adults, but there is inconsistency among their findings. To address this, we conducted an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis on within-group data from older adults and young adults performing regularly paced right-hand finger movement tasks in response to external stimuli. We hypothesized that older adults would show a greater likelihood of activation in right cortical motor areas (i.e., ipsilateral to the side of movement) compared to young adults. ALE maps were examined for conjunction and between-group differences. Older adults showed overlapping likelihoods of activation with young adults in left primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1), bilateral supplementary motor area, bilateral insula, left thalamus, and right anterior cerebellum. Their ALE map differed from that of the young adults in right SM1 (extending into dorsal premotor cortex), right supramarginal gyrus, medial premotor cortex, and right posterior cerebellum. The finding that older adults uniquely use ipsilateral regions for right-hand finger movements and show age-dependent modulations in regions recruited by both age groups provides a foundation by which to understand age-related motor decline and motor disorders. PMID:27799910

  19. Hand grips strength effect on motor function in human brain using fMRI: a pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ismail, S S; Mohamad, M; Syazarina, S O; Nafisah, W Y

    2014-01-01

    Several methods of motor tasks for fMRI scanning have been evolving from simple to more complex tasks. Motor tasks on upper extremity were applied in order to excite the increscent of motor activation on contralesional and ipsilateral hemispheres in brain. The main objective of this study is to study the different conditions for motor tasks on upper extremity that affected the brain activation. Ten healthy right handed with normal vision (3 male and 7 female, age range=20-30 years, mean=24.6 years, SD=2.21) participated in this study. Prior to the scanning, participants were trained on hand grip tasks using rubber ball and pressure gauge tool outside the scanner. During fMRI session, a block design with 30-s task blocks and alternating 30-s rest periods was employed while participants viewed a computer screen via a back projection-mirror system and instructed to follow the instruction by gripping their hand with normal and strong grips using a rubber ball. Statistical Parametric mapping (SPM8) software was used to determine the brain activation. Both tasks activated the primary motor (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), dorsal and ventral of premotor cortex area (PMA) in left hemisphere while in right hemisphere the area of primary motor (M1) somatosensory was activated. However, the comparison between both tasks revealed that the strong hand grip showed the higher activation at M1, PMA and SMA on left hemisphere and also the area of SMA on right hemisphere. Both conditions of motor tasks could provide insights the functional organization on human brain

  20. Hand grips strength effect on motor function in human brain using fMRI: a pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail, S. S.; Mohamad, M.; Syazarina, S. O.; Nafisah, W. Y.

    2014-11-01

    Several methods of motor tasks for fMRI scanning have been evolving from simple to more complex tasks. Motor tasks on upper extremity were applied in order to excite the increscent of motor activation on contralesional and ipsilateral hemispheres in brain. The main objective of this study is to study the different conditions for motor tasks on upper extremity that affected the brain activation. Ten healthy right handed with normal vision (3 male and 7 female, age range=20-30 years, mean=24.6 years, SD=2.21) participated in this study. Prior to the scanning, participants were trained on hand grip tasks using rubber ball and pressure gauge tool outside the scanner. During fMRI session, a block design with 30-s task blocks and alternating 30-s rest periods was employed while participants viewed a computer screen via a back projection-mirror system and instructed to follow the instruction by gripping their hand with normal and strong grips using a rubber ball. Statistical Parametric mapping (SPM8) software was used to determine the brain activation. Both tasks activated the primary motor (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA), dorsal and ventral of premotor cortex area (PMA) in left hemisphere while in right hemisphere the area of primary motor (M1) somatosensory was activated. However, the comparison between both tasks revealed that the strong hand grip showed the higher activation at M1, PMA and SMA on left hemisphere and also the area of SMA on right hemisphere. Both conditions of motor tasks could provide insights the functional organization on human brain.

  1. Effects of childhood trauma on left inferior frontal gyrus function during response inhibition across psychotic disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quidé, Y; O'Reilly, N; Watkeys, O J; Carr, V J; Green, M J

    2018-07-01

    Childhood trauma is a risk factor for psychosis. Deficits in response inhibition are common to psychosis and trauma-exposed populations, and associated brain functions may be affected by trauma exposure in psychotic disorders. We aimed to identify the influence of trauma-exposure on brain activation and functional connectivity during a response inhibition task. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain function within regions-of-interest [left and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right supplementary motor area, right inferior parietal lobule and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex], during the performance of a Go/No-Go Flanker task, in 112 clinical cases with psychotic disorders and 53 healthy controls (HCs). Among the participants, 71 clinical cases and 21 HCs reported significant levels of childhood trauma exposure, while 41 clinical cases and 32 HCs did not. In the absence of effects on response inhibition performance, childhood trauma exposure was associated with increased activation in the left IFG, and increased connectivity between the left IFG seed region and the cerebellum and calcarine sulcus, in both cases and healthy individuals. There was no main effect of psychosis, and no trauma-by-psychosis interaction for any other region-of-interest. Within the clinical sample, the effects of trauma-exposure on the left IFG activation were mediated by symptom severity. Trauma-related increases in activation of the left IFG were not associated with performance differences, or dependent on clinical diagnostic status; increased IFG functionality may represent a compensatory (overactivation) mechanism required to exert adequate inhibitory control of the motor response.

  2. Non-linear Relationship between BOLD Activation and Amplitude of Beta Oscillations in the Supplementary Motor Area during Rhythmic Finger Tapping and Internal Timing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gompf, Florian; Pflug, Anja; Laufs, Helmut; Kell, Christian A.

    2017-01-01

    Functional imaging studies using BOLD contrasts have consistently reported activation of the supplementary motor area (SMA) both during motor and internal timing tasks. Opposing findings, however, have been shown for the modulation of beta oscillations in the SMA. While movement suppresses beta oscillations in the SMA, motor and non-motor tasks that rely on internal timing increase the amplitude of beta oscillations in the SMA. These independent observations suggest that the relationship between beta oscillations and BOLD activation is more complex than previously thought. Here we set out to investigate this rapport by examining beta oscillations in the SMA during movement with varying degrees of internal timing demands. In a simultaneous EEG-fMRI experiment, 20 healthy right-handed subjects performed an auditory-paced finger-tapping task. Internal timing was operationalized by including conditions with taps on every fourth auditory beat, which necessitates generation of a slow internal rhythm, while tapping to every auditory beat reflected simple auditory-motor synchronization. In the SMA, BOLD activity increased and power in both the low and the high beta band decreased expectedly during each condition compared to baseline. Internal timing was associated with a reduced desynchronization of low beta oscillations compared to conditions without internal timing demands. In parallel with this relative beta power increase, internal timing activated the SMA more strongly in terms of BOLD. This documents a task-dependent non-linear relationship between BOLD and beta-oscillations in the SMA. We discuss different roles of beta synchronization and desynchronization in active processing within the same cortical region. PMID:29249950

  3. Non-linear Relationship between BOLD Activation and Amplitude of Beta Oscillations in the Supplementary Motor Area during Rhythmic Finger Tapping and Internal Timing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gompf, Florian; Pflug, Anja; Laufs, Helmut; Kell, Christian A

    2017-01-01

    Functional imaging studies using BOLD contrasts have consistently reported activation of the supplementary motor area (SMA) both during motor and internal timing tasks. Opposing findings, however, have been shown for the modulation of beta oscillations in the SMA. While movement suppresses beta oscillations in the SMA, motor and non-motor tasks that rely on internal timing increase the amplitude of beta oscillations in the SMA. These independent observations suggest that the relationship between beta oscillations and BOLD activation is more complex than previously thought. Here we set out to investigate this rapport by examining beta oscillations in the SMA during movement with varying degrees of internal timing demands. In a simultaneous EEG-fMRI experiment, 20 healthy right-handed subjects performed an auditory-paced finger-tapping task. Internal timing was operationalized by including conditions with taps on every fourth auditory beat, which necessitates generation of a slow internal rhythm, while tapping to every auditory beat reflected simple auditory-motor synchronization. In the SMA, BOLD activity increased and power in both the low and the high beta band decreased expectedly during each condition compared to baseline. Internal timing was associated with a reduced desynchronization of low beta oscillations compared to conditions without internal timing demands. In parallel with this relative beta power increase, internal timing activated the SMA more strongly in terms of BOLD. This documents a task-dependent non-linear relationship between BOLD and beta-oscillations in the SMA. We discuss different roles of beta synchronization and desynchronization in active processing within the same cortical region.

  4. Cortico-cortical white matter motor pathway microstructure is related to psychomotor retardation in major depressive disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Bracht

    Full Text Available Alterations of brain structure and function have been associated with psychomotor retardation in major depressive disorder (MDD. However, the association of motor behaviour and white matter integrity of motor pathways in MDD is unclear. The aim of the present study was to first investigate structural connectivity of white matter motor pathways in MDD. Second, we explore the relation of objectively measured motor activity and white matter integrity of motor pathways in MDD. Therefore, 21 patients with MDD and 21 healthy controls matched for age, gender, education and body mass index underwent diffusion tensor imaging and 24 hour actigraphy (measure of the activity level the same day. Applying a probabilistic fibre tracking approach we extracted connection pathways between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC, the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC, the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA, the SMA-proper, the primary motor cortex (M1, the caudate nucleus, the putamen, the pallidum and the thalamus. Patients had lower activity levels and demonstrated increased mean diffusivity (MD in pathways linking left pre-SMA and SMA-proper, and right SMA-proper and M1. Exploratory analyses point to a positive association of activity level and mean-fractional anisotropy in the right rACC-pre-SMA connection in MDD. Only MDD patients with low activity levels had a negative linear association of activity level and mean-MD in the left dlPFC-pre-SMA connection. Our results point to structural alterations of cortico-cortical white matter motor pathways in MDD. Altered white matter organisation of rACC-pre-SMA and dlPFC-pre-SMA pathways may contribute to movement initiation in MDD.

  5. Classification of functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals corresponding to the right- and left-wrist motor imagery for development of a brain-computer interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naseer, Noman; Hong, Keum-Shik

    2013-10-11

    This paper presents a study on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) indicating that the hemodynamic responses of the right- and left-wrist motor imageries have distinct patterns that can be classified using a linear classifier for the purpose of developing a brain-computer interface (BCI). Ten healthy participants were instructed to imagine kinesthetically the right- or left-wrist flexion indicated on a computer screen. Signals from the right and left primary motor cortices were acquired simultaneously using a multi-channel continuous-wave fNIRS system. Using two distinct features (the mean and the slope of change in the oxygenated hemoglobin concentration), the linear discriminant analysis classifier was used to classify the right- and left-wrist motor imageries resulting in average classification accuracies of 73.35% and 83.0%, respectively, during the 10s task period. Moreover, when the analysis time was confined to the 2-7s span within the overall 10s task period, the average classification accuracies were improved to 77.56% and 87.28%, respectively. These results demonstrate the feasibility of an fNIRS-based BCI and the enhanced performance of the classifier by removing the initial 2s span and/or the time span after the peak value. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Glial tumors in brodmann area 6: spread pattern and relationships to motor areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Komal B; Hayman, L Anne; Chavali, Lakshmi S; Hamilton, Jackson D; Prabhu, Sujit S; Wangaryattawanich, Pattana; Kumar, Vinodh A; Kumar, Ashok J

    2015-01-01

    The posterior frontal lobe of the brain houses Brodmann area 4, which is the primary motor cortex, and Brodmann area 6, which consists of the supplementary motor area on the medial portion of the hemisphere and the premotor cortex on the lateral portion. In this area, safe resection is dependent on accurate localization of the motor cortex and the central sulcus, which can usually be achieved by using thin-section imaging and confirmed by using other techniques. The most reliable anatomic landmarks are the "hand knob" area and the marginal ramus of the cingulate sulcus. Postoperatively, motor deficits can occur not only because of injury to primary motor cortex but also because of injury to the supplementary motor area. Unlike motor cortex injury, the supplementary motor area syndrome is transient, if it occurs at all. On the lateral hemisphere, motor and language deficits can also occur because of premotor cortex injury, but a dense motor deficit would indicate subcortical injury to the corticospinal tract. The close relationship of the subcortical motor fibers and premotor cortex is illustrated. In contrast to the more constant landmarks of the central sulcus and marginal ramus, which aid in preoperative localization, the variable interruptions in the precentral and cingulate sulci of the posterior frontal lobe seem to provide "cortical bridges" for spread of infiltrating gliomas. (©)RSNA, 2015.

  7. Spatially dynamic recurrent information flow across long-range dorsal motor network encodes selective motor goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Peter E; Hagan, Maureen A; John, Sam E; Opie, Nicholas L; Ordidge, Roger J; O'Brien, Terence J; Oxley, Thomas J; Moffat, Bradford A; Wong, Yan T

    2018-03-08

    Performing voluntary movements involves many regions of the brain, but it is unknown how they work together to plan and execute specific movements. We recorded high-resolution ultra-high-field blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal during a cued ankle-dorsiflexion task. The spatiotemporal dynamics and the patterns of task-relevant information flow across the dorsal motor network were investigated. We show that task-relevant information appears and decays earlier in the higher order areas of the dorsal motor network then in the primary motor cortex. Furthermore, the results show that task-relevant information is encoded in general initially, and then selective goals are subsequently encoded in specifics subregions across the network. Importantly, the patterns of recurrent information flow across the network vary across different subregions depending on the goal. Recurrent information flow was observed across all higher order areas of the dorsal motor network in the subregions encoding for the current goal. In contrast, only the top-down information flow from the supplementary motor cortex to the frontoparietal regions, with weakened recurrent information flow between the frontoparietal regions and bottom-up information flow from the frontoparietal regions to the supplementary cortex were observed in the subregions encoding for the opposing goal. We conclude that selective motor goal encoding and execution rely on goal-dependent differences in subregional recurrent information flow patterns across the long-range dorsal motor network areas that exhibit graded functional specialization. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Functional organization and restoration of the brain motor-execution network after stroke and rehabilitation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sahil eBajaj

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Multiple cortical areas of the human brain motor system interact coherently in the low frequency range (< 0.1 Hz, even in the absence of explicit tasks. Following stroke, cortical interactions are functionally disturbed. How these interactions are affected and how the functional organization is regained from rehabilitative treatments as people begin to recover motor behaviors has not been systematically studied. We recorded the intrinsic functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI signals from 30 participants: 17 young healthy controls and 13 aged stroke survivors. Stroke participants underwent mental practice (MP or both mental practice and physical therapy (MP + PT within 14-51 days following stroke. We investigated the network activity of five core areas in the motor-execution network, consisting of the left primary motor area (LM1, the right primary motor area (RM1, the left pre-motor cortex (LPMC, the right pre-motor cortex (RPMC and the supplementary motor area (SMA. We discovered that (i the network activity dominated in the frequency range 0.06 Hz – 0.08 Hz for all the regions, and for both able-bodied and stroke participants (ii the causal information flow between the regions: LM1 and SMA, RPMC and SMA, RPMC and LM1, SMA and RM1, SMA and LPMC, was reduced significantly for stroke survivors (iii the flow did not increase significantly after MP alone and (iv the flow among the regions during MP+PT increased significantly. We also found that sensation and motor scores were significantly higher and correlated with directed functional connectivity measures when the stroke-survivors underwent MP+PT but not MP alone. The findings provide evidence that a combination of mental practice and physical therapy can be an effective means of treatment for stroke survivors to recover or regain the strength of motor behaviors, and that the spectra of causal information flow can be used as a reliable biomarker for evaluating rehabilitation in stroke

  9. Higher-order Brain Areas Associated with Real-time Functional MRI Neurofeedback Training of the Somato-motor Cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auer, Tibor; Dewiputri, Wan Ilma; Frahm, Jens; Schweizer, Renate

    2018-05-15

    Neurofeedback (NFB) allows subjects to learn self-regulation of neuronal brain activation based on information about the ongoing activation. The implementation of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) for NFB training now facilitates the investigation into underlying processes. Our study involved 16 control and 16 training right-handed subjects, the latter performing an extensive rt-fMRI NFB training using motor imagery. A previous analysis focused on the targeted primary somato-motor cortex (SMC). The present study extends the analysis to the supplementary motor area (SMA), the next higher brain area within the hierarchy of the motor system. We also examined transfer-related functional connectivity using a whole-volume psycho-physiological interaction (PPI) analysis to reveal brain areas associated with learning. The ROI analysis of the pre- and post-training fMRI data for motor imagery without NFB (transfer) resulted in a significant training-specific increase in the SMA. It could also be shown that the contralateral SMA exhibited a larger increase than the ipsilateral SMA in the training and the transfer runs, and that the right-hand training elicited a larger increase in the transfer runs than the left-hand training. The PPI analysis revealed a training-specific increase in transfer-related functional connectivity between the left SMA and frontal areas as well as the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC) for right- and left-hand trainings. Moreover, the transfer success was related with training-specific increase in functional connectivity between the left SMA and the target area SMC. Our study demonstrates that NFB training increases functional connectivity with non-targeted brain areas. These are associated with the training strategy (i.e., SMA) as well as with learning the NFB skill (i.e., aMCC and frontal areas). This detailed description of both the system to be trained and the areas involved in learning can provide valuable information

  10. Structural and functional evaluation of cortical motor areas in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosottini, Mirco; Pesaresi, Ilaria; Piazza, Selina; Diciotti, Stefano; Cecchi, Paolo; Fabbri, Serena; Carlesi, Cecilia; Mascalchi, Mario; Siciliano, Gabriele

    2012-03-01

    The structural and functional data gathered with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques about the brain cortical motor damage in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are controversial. In fact some structural MRI studies showed foci of gray matter (GM) atrophy in the precentral gyrus, even in the early stage, while others did not. Most functional MRI (fMRI) studies in ALS reported hyperactivation of extra-primary motor cortices, while contradictory results were obtained on the activation of the primary motor cortex. We aimed to investigate the cortical motor circuitries in ALS patients by a combined structural and functional approach. Twenty patients with definite ALS and 16 healthy subjects underwent a structural examination with acquisition of a 3D T1-weighted sequence and fMRI examination during a maximal force handgrip task executed with the right-hand, the left-hand and with both hands simultaneously. The T1-weighted images were analyzed with Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM) that showed several clusters of reduced cortical GM in ALS patients compared to controls including the pre and postcentral gyri, the superior, middle and inferior frontal gyri, the supplementary motor area, the superior and inferior parietal cortices and the temporal lobe, bilaterally but more extensive on the right side. In ALS patients a significant hypoactivation of the primary sensory motor cortex and frontal dorsal premotor areas as compared to controls was observed. The hypoactivated areas matched with foci of cortical atrophy demonstrated by VBM. The fMRI analysis also showed an enhanced activation in the ventral premotor frontal areas and in the parietal cortex pertaining to the fronto-parietal motor circuit which paralleled with disease progression rate and matched with cortical regions of atrophy. The hyperactivation of the fronto-parietal circuit was asymmetric and prevalent in the left hemisphere. VBM and fMRI identified structural and functional markers of an extended

  11. Single motor unit firing behaviour in the right trapezius muscle during rapid movement of right or left index finger.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen eSøgaard

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Computer work is associated with low level sustained activity in the trapezius muscle that may cause myalgia. The activity may be attention related or part of a general multijoint motor program providing stabilization of the shoulder girdle for precise finger manipulation. This study examines single motor unit (MU firing pattern in the right trapezius muscle during fast movements of ipsi or contralateral index finger. Modulated firing rate would support a general multi joint motor program, while a generally increased and continuous firing rate would support attention related activation. 12 healthy female subjects were seated at a computer work place with elbows and forearms supported. Ten double clicks (DC were performed with right and left index finger on a computer mouse instrumented with a trigger.Surface EMG was recorded from right and left trapezius muscle. Intramuscular EMG was recorded with a quadripolar wire electrode in the right trapezius.Surface EMG was analysed as %MVE. The intramuscular EMG was decomposed into individual MU action potential trains. Instantaneous firing rate (IFR was calculated from inter-spike interval with ISI shorter than 20 ms defined as doublets. IFR was averaged across 10 DC to show IFR modulation.Surface EMG in both right and left trapezius was 1.8-2.5%MVE. During right hand DC a total of 32 MUs were identified. Four subjects showed no activity. Four showed MU activity with weak or no variations related to the timing of DC. Four subjects showed large modulation in IFR with temporal relation to DC. During left hand DC 15 MUs were identified in 4 subjects, for two of the subjects with IFR modulations related to DC. Doublets was found as an integrated part of MU activation in the trapezius muscle and for one subject temporarily related to DC. In conclusion, DC with ipsi- and contralateral fast movements of the index finger was found to evoke biomechanically as well as attention related activity pattern in the

  12. Gravity Compensation Technique Uses Small dc Motor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hollow, Richard

    1988-01-01

    Small dc servomotor powered by simple constant-current source and with suitable gearing used to cancel effect of gravity upon load. Lead-screw positioning system has load counterbalanced by small supplementary motor powered by constant current source. Motor lighter and more compact alternative to counterbalance. Used in variety of mechanical systems where load positioned or accelerated in vertical plane.

  13. Music reduces pain and increases resting state fMRI BOLD signal amplitude in the left angular gyrus in fibromyalgia patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo A. Garza-Villarreal

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Music reduces pain in fibromyalgia (FM, a chronic pain disease, but the functional neural correlates of music-induced analgesia are still largely unknown. We recruited FM patients (n = 22 who listened to their preferred relaxing music and an auditory control (pink noise for 5 minutes without external noise from fMRI image acquisition. Resting state fMRI was then acquired before and after the music and control conditions. A significant increase in the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations of the BOLD signal was evident in the left angular gyrus after listening to music, which in turn, correlated to the analgesia reports. The post-hoc seed-based functional connectivity analysis of the left angular gyrus showed found higher connectivity after listening to music with right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the left caudate, and decreased connectivity with right anterior cingulate cortex, right supplementary motor area, precuneus and right precentral gyrus. Pain intensity analgesia was correlated (r = .61 to the connectivity of the left angular gyrus with the right precentral gyrus. Our results show that music-induced analgesia in FM is related to top-down regulation of the pain modulatory network by the default-mode network.

  14. Non-invasive modulation of somatosensory evoked potentials by the application of static magnetic fields over the primary and supplementary motor cortices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirimoto, Hikari; Asao, Akihiko; Tamaki, Hiroyuki; Onishi, Hideaki

    2016-10-04

    This study was performed to investigate the possibility of non-invasive modulation of SEPs by the application of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) and supplementary motor cortex (SMA), and to measure the strength of the NdFeB magnetic field by using a gaussmeter. An NdFeB magnet or a non-magnetic stainless steel cylinder (for sham stimulation) was settled on the scalp over M1 and SMA of 14 subjects for periods of 15 min. SEPs following right median nerve stimulation were recorded before and immediately after, 5 min after, and 10 min after tSMS from sites C3' and F3. Amplitudes of the N33 component of SEPs at C3' significantly decreased immediately after tSMS over M1 by up to 20%. However, tSMS over the SMA did not affect the amplitude of any of the SEP components. At a distance of 2-3 cm (rough depth of the cortex), magnetic field strength was in the range of 110-190 mT. Our results that tSMS over M1 can reduce the amplitude of SEPs are consistent with those of low-frequency repeated TMS and cathodal tDCS studies. Therefore, tSMS could be a useful tool for modulating cortical somatosensory processing.

  15. Basic and supplementary sensory feedback in handwriting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danna, Jérémy; Velay, Jean-Luc

    2015-01-01

    The mastering of handwriting is so essential in our society that it is important to try to find new methods for facilitating its learning and rehabilitation. The ability to control the graphic movements clearly impacts on the quality of the writing. This control allows both the programming of letter formation before movement execution and the online adjustments during execution, thanks to diverse sensory feedback (FB). New technologies improve existing techniques or enable new methods to supply the writer with real-time computer-assisted FB. The possibilities are numerous and various. Therefore, two main questions arise: (1) What aspect of the movement is concerned and (2) How can we best inform the writer to help them correct their handwriting? In a first step, we report studies on FB naturally used by the writer. The purpose is to determine which information is carried by each sensory modality, how it is used in handwriting control and how this control changes with practice and learning. In a second step, we report studies on supplementary FB provided to the writer to help them to better control and learn how to write. We suggest that, depending on their contents, certain sensory modalities will be more appropriate than others to assist handwriting motor control. We emphasize particularly the relevance of auditory modality as online supplementary FB on handwriting movements. Using real-time supplementary FB to assist in the handwriting process is probably destined for a brilliant future with the growing availability and rapid development of tablets. PMID:25750633

  16. Motor Cortex Activity During Functional Motor Skills: An fNIRS Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishiyori, Ryota; Bisconti, Silvia; Ulrich, Beverly

    2016-01-01

    Assessments of brain activity during motor task performance have been limited to fine motor movements due to technological constraints presented by traditional neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offers a promising method by which to overcome these constraints and investigate motor performance of functional motor tasks. The current study used fNIRS to quantify hemodynamic responses within the primary motor cortex in twelve healthy adults as they performed unimanual right, unimanual left, and bimanual reaching, and stepping in place. Results revealed that during both unimanual reaching tasks, the contralateral hemisphere showed significant activation in channels located approximately 3 cm medial to the C3 (for right-hand reach) and C4 (for left-hand reach) landmarks. Bimanual reaching and stepping showed activation in similar channels, which were located bilaterally across the primary motor cortex. The medial channels, surrounding Cz, showed significantly higher activations during stepping when compared to bimanual reaching. Our results extend the viability of fNIRS to study motor function and build a foundation for future investigation of motor development in infants during nascent functional behaviors and monitor how they may change with age or practice.

  17. Induction of motor associative plasticity in the posterior parietal cortex-primary motor network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chao, Chi-Chao; Karabanov, Anke Ninija; Paine, Rainer

    2015-01-01

    There is anatomical and functional connectivity between the primary motor cortex (M1) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) that plays a role in sensorimotor integration. In this study, we applied corticocortical paired-associative stimuli to ipsilateral PPC and M1 (parietal ccPAS) in healthy right......-handed subjects to test if this procedure could modulate M1 excitability and PPC–M1 connectivity. One hundred and eighty paired transcranial magnetic stimuli to the PPC and M1 at an interstimulus interval (ISI) of 8 ms were delivered at 0.2 Hz. We found that parietal ccPAS in the left hemisphere increased...... the excitability of conditioned left M1 assessed by motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and the input–output curve. Motor behavior assessed by the Purdue pegboard task was unchanged compared with controls. At baseline, conditioning stimuli over the left PPC potentiated MEPs from left M1 when ISI was 8 ms...

  18. Functional BOLD MRI: comparison of different field strengths in a motor task

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meindl, T.; Born, C.; Britsch, S.; Reiser, M.; Schoenberg, S.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose was to evaluate the benefit of an increased field strength for functional magnetic resonance imaging in a motor task. Six right-handed volunteers were scanned at 1.5 T and 3.0 T using a motor task. Each experiment consisted of two runs with four activation blocks, each with right- and left-hand tapping. Analysis was done using BrainVoyagerQX registered . Differences between both field strengths concerning signal to noise (SNR), blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal change, functional sensitivity and BOLD contrast to noise (CNR) were tested using a paired t test. Delineation of activations and artifacts were graded by two independent readers. Results were further validated by means of a phantom study. The sensorimotor and premotor cortex, the supplementary motor area, subcortical and cerebellar structures were activated at each field strength. Additional activations of the right premotor cortex and right superior temporal gyrus were found at 3.0 T. Signal-to-noise, percentage of BOLD signal change, BOLD CNR and functional sensitivity improved at 3.0 T by a factor of up to 2.4. Functional imaging at 3.0 T results in detection of additional activated areas, increased SNR, BOLD signal change, functional sensitivity and BOLD CNR. (orig.)

  19. Changes in neural resting state activity in primary and higher-order motor areas induced by a short sensorimotor intervention based on the Feldenkrais method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julius eVerrel

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available We use functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate short-term neural effects of a brief sensorimotor intervention adapted from the Feldenkrais method, a movement-based learning method. Twenty-one participants (10 men, 19-30 years took part in the study. Participants were in a supine position in the scanner with extended legs while an experienced Feldenkrais practitioner used a planar board to touch and apply minimal force to different parts of the sole and toes of their left foot under two experimental conditions. In the local condition, the practitioner explored movement within foot and ankle. In the global condition, the practitioner focused on the connection and support from the foot to the rest of the body. Before (baseline and after each intervention (post-local, post-global, we measured brain activity during intermittent pushing/releasing with the left leg and during resting state. Independent localizer tasks were used to identify regions of interest (ROI.Brain activity during left-foot pushing did not significantly differ between conditions in sensorimotor areas. Resting state activity (regional homogeneity, ReHo increased from baseline to post-local in medial right motor cortex, and from baseline to post-global in the left supplementary/cingulate motor area. Contrasting post-global to post-local showed higher ReHo in right lateral motor cortex. ROI analyses showed significant increases in ReHo in pushing-related areas from baseline to both post-local and post-global, and this increase tended to be more pronounced post-local. The results of this exploratory study show that a short, non-intrusive sensorimotor intervention can have short-term effects on spontaneous cortical activity in functionally related brain regions. Increased resting state activity in higher-order motor areas supports the hypothesis that the global intervention engages action-related neural processes.

  20. Supplementary physicians' fees: a sustainable system?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calcoen, Piet; van de Ven, Wynand P M M

    2018-01-25

    In Belgium and France, physicians can charge a supplementary fee on top of the tariff set by the mandatory basic health insurance scheme. In both countries, the supplementary fee system is under pressure because of financial sustainability concerns and a lack of added value for the patient. Expenditure on supplementary fees is increasing much faster than total health expenditure. So far, measures taken to curb this trend have not been successful. For certain categories of physicians, supplementary fees represent one-third of total income. For patients, however, the added value of supplementary fees is not that clear. Supplementary fees can buy comfort and access to physicians who refuse to treat patients who are not willing to pay supplementary fees. Perceived quality of care plays an important role in patients' willingness to pay supplementary fees. Today, there is no evidence that physicians who charge supplementary fees provide better quality of care than physicians who do not. However, linking supplementary fees to objectively proven quality of care and limiting access to top quality care to patients able and willing to pay supplementary fees might not be socially acceptable in many countries. Our conclusion is that supplementary physicians' fees are not sustainable.

  1. Hemispheric Lateralization of Motor Thresholds in Relation to Stuttering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alm, Per A.; Karlsson, Ragnhild; Sundberg, Madeleine; Axelson, Hans W.

    2013-01-01

    Stuttering is a complex speech disorder. Previous studies indicate a tendency towards elevated motor threshold for the left hemisphere, as measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This may reflect a monohemispheric motor system impairment. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative side-to-side difference (asymmetry) and the absolute levels of motor threshold for the hand area, using TMS in adults who stutter (n = 15) and in controls (n = 15). In accordance with the hypothesis, the groups differed significantly regarding the relative side-to-side difference of finger motor threshold (p = 0.0026), with the stuttering group showing higher motor threshold of the left hemisphere in relation to the right. Also the absolute level of the finger motor threshold for the left hemisphere differed between the groups (p = 0.049). The obtained results, together with previous investigations, provide support for the hypothesis that stuttering tends to be related to left hemisphere motor impairment, and possibly to a dysfunctional state of bilateral speech motor control. PMID:24146930

  2. Hemispheric lateralization of motor thresholds in relation to stuttering.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Per A Alm

    Full Text Available Stuttering is a complex speech disorder. Previous studies indicate a tendency towards elevated motor threshold for the left hemisphere, as measured using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS. This may reflect a monohemispheric motor system impairment. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relative side-to-side difference (asymmetry and the absolute levels of motor threshold for the hand area, using TMS in adults who stutter (n = 15 and in controls (n = 15. In accordance with the hypothesis, the groups differed significantly regarding the relative side-to-side difference of finger motor threshold (p = 0.0026, with the stuttering group showing higher motor threshold of the left hemisphere in relation to the right. Also the absolute level of the finger motor threshold for the left hemisphere differed between the groups (p = 0.049. The obtained results, together with previous investigations, provide support for the hypothesis that stuttering tends to be related to left hemisphere motor impairment, and possibly to a dysfunctional state of bilateral speech motor control.

  3. Role of medial premotor areas in action language processing in relation to motor skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courson, Melody; Macoir, Joël; Tremblay, Pascale

    2017-10-01

    The literature reports that the supplementary motor area (SMA) and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) are involved in motor planning and execution, and in motor-related cognitive functions such as motor imagery. However, their specific role in action language processing remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the impact of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over SMA and pre-SMA during an action semantic analogy task (SAT) in relation with fine motor skills (i.e., manual dexterity) and motor imagery abilities in healthy non-expert adults. The impact of rTMS over SMA (but not pre-SMA) on reaction times (RT) during SAT was correlated with manual dexterity. Specifically, results show that rTMS over SMA modulated RT for those with lower dexterity skills. Our results therefore demonstrate a causal involvement of SMA in action language processing, as well as the existence of inter-individual differences in this involvement. We discuss these findings in light of neurolinguistic theories of language processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. EJSCREEN Supplementary Indexes 2015 Public

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — There are 40 supplementary EJSCREEN indexes that are divided into 5 categories: EJ Index with supplementary demographic index, Supplementary EJ Index 1 with...

  5. [Local brain activity in different motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease with fMRI].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Ya'nan; Zhang, Jiarong; Chen, Biao; Wu, Tao

    2015-02-17

    To explore the changes of local brain activity in motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A total of 60 idiopathic PD and 30 age- and gender-matched normal controls were examined with resting-state fMRI from January 2013 to March 2014. All subjects gave their written informed consent for the study. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was calculated to measure local brain activity. The PD patients were divided into two groups of tremor dominant (TD) and postural instability/gait difficulty (PIGD) (n = 30 each). All subjects gave their written in formed consent for the study.One-way ANOVA and post-hoc t-test were performed to detect the differences of local brain activity between PD and normal subjects. And the correlations were examined between ALFF, scores and levodopa dose. Compared with normal subjects, the TD group showed increased activity in bilateral cerebellums (-37, -47, -38), thalamus (-18, -17,0), pons (-3, -23, -37) and left precentral gyrus (-41, -30, 46) versus decreased activity in bilateral frontal lobes (-13, 69, 6), temporal lobes (-42, 18, -21), left insula (-32, 22, 2) and left anterior cingulated (-7, 32, -5). The PIGD group showed increased activity in right postcentral gyrus (63, -18, 39) and decreased activity in bilateral putamens (-24, 12, 3), pre-supplementary motor area (10, 10, 58), frontal lobes (15, -15, 57), temporal lobes (-39, 18, -3) and left insula (-29, 20, 11). Compared with PIGD, the TD group showed increased activity in temporal lobes, but decreased activity in frontal lobes. Additionally, ALFF in bilateral cerebellums and frontal lobes was positively correlated with TD scores while ALFF in left precentral gyrus, bilateral putamens and temporal lobes negatively correlated with TD scores. ALFF in bilateral frontal lobes and left temporal lobe was positively correlated with PIGD scores.However, in right postcentral gyrus and bilateral putamens, ALFF was

  6. Linear estimation discriminates midline sources and motor cortex contribution to the readiness potential

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Knosche, Thomas; Knosche, T.R.; Praamstra, Peter; Peters, M.J.; Stegeman, Dick; Stegeman, D.

    1996-01-01

    Spatiotemporal dipole modelling of the generators of the readiness potential (RP) prior to voluntary movements has yielded diverging results concerning the contributions of supplementary motor area (SMA) and primary motor cortex. We applied an alternative approach (i.e. linear estimation theory) to

  7. An Investigation of the Differences and Similarities between Generated Small-World Networks for Right- and Left-Hand Motor Imageries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiang; Li, Yuyao; Chen, Huafu; Ding, Jurong; Yuan, Zhen

    2016-11-04

    In this study, small-world network analysis was performed to identify the similarities and differences between functional brain networks for right- and left-hand motor imageries (MIs). First, Pearson correlation coefficients among the nodes within the functional brain networks from healthy subjects were calculated. Then, small-world network indicators, including the clustering coefficient, the average path length, the global efficiency, the local efficiency, the average node degree, and the small-world index, were generated for the functional brain networks during both right- and left-hand MIs. We identified large differences in the small-world network indicators between the functional networks during MI and in the random networks. More importantly, the functional brain networks underlying the right- and left-hand MIs exhibited similar small-world properties in terms of the clustering coefficient, the average path length, the global efficiency, and the local efficiency. By contrast, the right- and left-hand MI brain networks showed differences in small-world characteristics, including indicators such as the average node degree and the small-world index. Interestingly, our findings also suggested that the differences in the activity intensity and range, the average node degree, and the small-world index of brain networks between the right- and left-hand MIs were associated with the asymmetry of brain functions.

  8. Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation over the supplementary motor area body weight-supported treadmill gait training in hemiparetic patients after stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manji, Atsushi; Amimoto, Kazu; Matsuda, Tadamitsu; Wada, Yoshiaki; Inaba, Akira; Ko, Sangkyun

    2018-01-01

    Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is used in a variety of disorders after stroke including upper limb motor dysfunctions, hemispatial neglect, aphasia, and apraxia, and its effectiveness has been demonstrated. Although gait ability is important for daily living, there were few reports of the use of tDCS to improve balance and gait ability. The supplementary motor area (SMA) was reported to play a potentially important role in balance recovery after stroke. We aimed to investigate the effect of combined therapy body weight-supported treadmill training (BWSTT) and tDCS on gait function recovery of stroke patients. Thirty stroke inpatients participated in this study. The two BWSTT periods of 1weeks each, with real tDCS (anode: front of Cz, cathode: inion, 1mA, 20min) on SMA and sham stimulation, were randomized in a double-blind crossover design. We measured the time required for the 10m Walk Test (10MWT) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test before and after each period. We found that the real tDCS with BWSTT significantly improved gait speed (10MWT) and applicative walking ability (TUG), compared with BWSTT+sham stimulation periods (ptraining after stroke. The facilitative effects of tDCS on SMA possibly improved postural control during BWSTT. The results indicated the implications for the use of tDCS in balance and gait training rehabilitation after stroke. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Motor network plasticity and low-frequency oscillations abnormalities in patients with brain gliomas: a functional MRI study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Niu

    Full Text Available Brain plasticity is often associated with the process of slow-growing tumor formation, which remodels neural organization and optimizes brain network function. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether motor function plasticity would display deficits in patients with slow-growing brain tumors located in or near motor areas, but who were without motor neurological deficits. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to probe motor networks in 15 patients with histopathologically confirmed brain gliomas and 15 age-matched healthy controls. All subjects performed a motor task to help identify individual motor activity in the bilateral primary motor cortex (PMC and supplementary motor area (SMA. Frequency-based analysis at three different frequencies was then used to investigate possible alterations in the power spectral density (PSD of low-frequency oscillations. For each group, the average PSD was determined for each brain region and a nonparametric test was performed to determine the difference in power between the two groups. Significantly reduced inter-hemispheric functional connectivity between the left and right PMC was observed in patients compared with controls (P<0.05. We also found significantly decreased PSD in patients compared to that in controls, in all three frequency bands (low: 0.01-0.02 Hz; middle: 0.02-0.06 Hz; and high: 0.06-0.1 Hz, at three key motor regions. These findings suggest that in asymptomatic patients with brain tumors located in eloquent regions, inter-hemispheric connection may be more vulnerable. A comparison of the two approaches indicated that power spectral analysis is more sensitive than functional connectivity analysis for identifying the neurological abnormalities underlying motor function plasticity induced by slow-growing tumors.

  10. Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to the left premotor cortex (PMC) stabilizes a newly learned motor sequence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Focke, Jan; Kemmet, Sylvia; Krause, Vanessa; Keitel, Ariane; Pollok, Bettina

    2017-01-01

    While the primary motor cortex (M1) is involved in the acquisition the premotor cortex (PMC) has been related to over-night consolidation of a newly learned motor skill. The present study aims at investigating the possible contribution of the left PMC for the stabilization of a motor sequence immediately after acquisition as determined by susceptibility to interference. Thirty six healthy volunteers received anodal, cathodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left PMC either immediately prior to or during training on a serial reaction time task (SRTT) with the right hand. TDCS was applied for 10min, respectively. Reaction times were measured prior to training (t1), at the end of training (t2), and after presentation of an interfering random pattern (t3). Beyond interference from learning, the random pattern served as control condition in order to estimate general effects of tDCS on reaction times. TDCS applied during SRTT training did not result in any significant effects neither on acquisition nor on susceptibility to interference. In contrast to this, tDCS prior to SRTT training yielded an unspecific facilitation of reaction times at t2 independent of tDCS polarity. At t3, reduced susceptibility to interference was found following cathodal stimulation. The results suggest the involvement of the PMC in early consolidation and reveal a piece of evidence for the hypothesis that behavioral tDCS effects vary with the activation state of the stimulated area. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  11. Causal Role of Motor Simulation in Turn-Taking Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadley, Lauren V; Novembre, Giacomo; Keller, Peter E; Pickering, Martin J

    2015-12-16

    Overlap between sensory and motor representations has been documented for a range of human actions, from grasping (Rizzolatti et al., 1996b) to playing a musical instrument (Novembre and Keller, 2014). Such overlap suggests that individuals use motor simulation to predict the outcome of observed actions (Wolpert, 1997). Here we investigate motor simulation as a basis of human communication. Using a musical turn-taking task, we show that pianists call on motor representations of their partner's part to predict when to come in for their own turn. Pianists played alternating solos with a videoed partner, and double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied around the turn-switch to temporarily disrupt processing in two cortical regions implicated previously in different forms of motor simulation: (1) the dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), associated with automatic motor resonance during passive observation of hand actions, especially when the actions are familiar (Lahav et al., 2007); and (2) the supplementary motor area (SMA), involved in active motor imagery, especially when the actions are familiar (Baumann et al., 2007). Stimulation of the right dPMC decreased the temporal accuracy of pianists' (right-hand) entries relative to sham when the partner's (left-hand) part had been rehearsed previously. This effect did not occur for dPMC stimulation without rehearsal or for SMA stimulation. These findings support the role of the dPMC in predicting the time course of observed actions via resonance-based motor simulation during turn-taking. Because turn-taking spans multiple modes of human interaction, we suggest that simulation is a foundational mechanism underlying the temporal dynamics of joint action. Even during passive observation, seeing or hearing somebody execute an action from within our repertoire activates motor cortices of our brain. But what is the functional relevance of such "motor simulation"? By combining a musical duet task with a real

  12. Compensatory cerebral motor control following presumed perinatal ischemic stroke

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Hoorn, Anouk; Potgieser, Adriaan R E; Brouwer, Oebele F; de Jong, Bauke M

    Case: A fifteen year-old left-handed girl presented with right-sided focal motor seizures. Neuroimaging showed a large left hemisphere lesion compatible with a middle cerebral artery stroke of presumed perinatal origin. She was not previously diagnosed with a motor deficit, although neurological

  13. Probabilistic fiber tracking of the language and motor white matter pathways of the supplementary motor area (SMA) in patients with brain tumors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenabi, Mehrnaz; Peck, Kyung K; Young, Robert J; Brennan, Nicole; Holodny, Andrei I

    2014-12-01

    Accurate localization of anatomically and functionally separate SMA tracts is important to improve planning prior to neurosurgery. Using fMRI and probabilistic DTI techniques, we assessed the connectivity between the frontal language area (Broca's area) and the rostral pre-SMA (language SMA) and caudal SMA proper (motor SMA). Twenty brain tumor patients completed motor and language fMRI paradigms and DTI. Peaks of functional activity in the language SMA, motor SMA and Broca's area were used to define seed regions for probabilistic tractography. fMRI and probabilistic tractography identified separate and unique pathways connecting the SMA to Broca's area - the language SMA pathway and the motor SMA pathway. For all subjects, the language SMA pathway had a larger number of voxels (PProbabilistic tractography can identify unique white matter tracts that connect language SMA and motor SMA to Broca's area. The language SMA is more significantly connected to Broca's area than is the motor subdivision of the SMA proper. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. Atypical within- and between-hemisphere motor network functional connections in children with developmental coordination disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin R. McLeod

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Developmental coordination disorder (DCD and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD are highly comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders; however, the neural mechanisms of this comorbidity are poorly understood. Previous research has demonstrated that children with DCD and ADHD have altered brain region communication, particularly within the motor network. The structure and function of the motor network in a typically developing brain exhibits hemispheric dominance. It is plausible that functional deficits observed in children with DCD and ADHD are associated with neurodevelopmental alterations in within- and between-hemisphere motor network functional connection strength that disrupt this hemispheric dominance. We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine functional connections of the left and right primary and sensory motor (SM1 cortices in children with DCD, ADHD and DCD + ADHD, relative to typically developing children. Our findings revealed that children with DCD, ADHD and DCD + ADHD exhibit atypical within- and between-hemisphere functional connection strength between SM1 and regions of the basal ganglia, as well as the cerebellum. Our findings further support the assertion that development of atypical motor network connections represents common and distinct neural mechanisms underlying DCD and ADHD. In children with DCD and DCD + ADHD (but not ADHD, a significant correlation was observed between clinical assessment of motor function and the strength of functional connections between right SM1 and anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area, and regions involved in visuospatial processing. This latter finding suggests that behavioral phenotypes associated with atypical motor network development differ between individuals with DCD and those with ADHD.

  15. Motor cortical representation of the pelvic floor muscles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrum, A; Wolff, S; van der Horst, C; Kuhtz-Buschbeck, J P

    2011-07-01

    Pelvic floor muscle training involves rhythmical voluntary contractions of the external urethral sphincter and ancillary pelvic floor muscles. The representation of these muscles in the motor cortex has not been located precisely and unambiguously. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine brain activity during slow and fast pelvic floor contractions. Cerebral responses were recorded in 17 healthy male volunteers, 21 to 47 years old, with normal bladder control. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed during metronome paced slow (0.25 Hertz) and fast (0.7 Hertz) contractions of the pelvic floor that mimicked the interruption of voiding. To study the somatotopy of the cortical representations, flexion-extension movements of the right toes were performed as a control task. Functional magnetic resonance imaging during pelvic floor contractions detected activity of the supplementary motor area in the medial wall and of the midcingulate cortex, insula, posterior parietal cortex, putamen, thalamus, cerebellar vermis and upper ventral pons. There were no significant differences in activation between slow and fast contractions. Toe movements involved significantly stronger activity of the paracentral lobule (ie the medial primary motor cortex) than did the pelvic floor contractions. Otherwise the areas active during pelvic floor and leg muscle contractions overlapped considerably. The motor cortical representation of pelvic floor muscles is located mostly in the supplementary motor area. It extends further ventrally and anteriorly than the representation of distal leg muscles. Copyright © 2011 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. A supplementary circuit rule-set for the neuronal wiring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kunjumon I Vadakkan

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Limitations of known anatomical circuit rules necessitate the identification of supplementary rules. This is essential for explaining how associative sensory stimuli induce nervous system changes that generate internal sensations of memory, concurrent with triggering specific motor activities in response to specific cue stimuli. A candidate mechanism is rapidly reversible, yet stabilizable membrane hemi-fusion formed between the closely apposed postsynaptic membranes of different neurons at locations of convergence of sensory inputs during associative learning. The lateral entry of activity from the cue stimulus-activated postsynapse re-activates the opposite postsynapse through the hemi-fused area and induces the basic units of internal sensation (namely, semblions as a systems property. Working, short-term and long-term memories can be viewed as functions of the number of re-activatible hemi-fusions present at the time of memory retrieval. Blocking membrane hemi-fusion either by the insertion of the herpes simplex virus glycoproteins or by the deposition of insoluble intermediates of amyloid and tau proteins in the inter-postsynaptic extracellular matrix space leads to cognitive impairments, supporting this mechanism. The introduction of membrane fusion blockers into the postsynaptic cell cytoplasm that attenuates long-term potentiation, a correlate of behavioral motor activities in response to memory retrieval, provides further support. The lateral spread of activity through the inter-postsynaptic membrane is capable of contributing to oscillating neuronal activity at certain neuronal orders. At the resting state these oscillations provide sub-threshold activation to many neurons at higher orders, including motor neurons maintaining them at a low initiation threshold for motor activity.

  17. The lateralization of motor cortex activation to action words

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olaf eHauk

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available What determines the laterality of activation in motor cortex for words whose meaning is related to bodily actions? It has been suggested that the neuronal representation of the meaning of action-words is shaped by individual experience. However, core language functions are left-lateralized in the majority of both right- and left-handers. It is still an open question to what degree connections between left-hemispheric core language areas and right-hemispheric motor areas can play a role in semantics. We investigated laterality of brain activation using fMRI in right- and left-handed participants in response to visually presented hand-related action-words, namely uni- and bi-manual actions (such as "throw" and "clap". These stimulus groups were matched with respect to general (hand-action-relatedness, but differed with respect to whether they are usually performed with the dominant hand or both hands. We may expect generally more left-hemispheric motor-cortex activation for hand-related words in both handedness groups, with possibly more bilateral activation for bimanual words as well as left-handers. In our study, both participant groups activated motor cortex bilaterally for bi-manual words. Interestingly, both groups also showed a left-lateralized activation pattern to uni-manual words. We argue that this reflects the effect of left-hemispheric language dominance on the formation of semantic brain circuits on the basis of Hebbian correlation learning.

  18. Motor activation in SPG4-linked hereditary spastic paraplegia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scheuer, KH; Nielsen, JE; Krabbe, Katja

    2006-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of motor cortical functional reorganisation in patients with SPG4-linked hereditary spastic paraplegia by exploring cortical motor activation related to movements of clinically affected (lower) and unaffected (upper) limbs. METHODS......: Thirteen patients and 13 normal controls matched for age, gender and handedness underwent O15-labelled water positron emission tomography during (1) right ankle flexion-extension, (2) right shoulder flexion-extension and (3) rest. Within-group comparisons of movement vs. rest (simple main effects......, the supplementary motor areas and the right premotor cortex compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Motor cortical reorganisation may explain this result, but as no significant differences were recognised in the motor response of the unaffected limb, differences in functional demands should also be considered...

  19. Combining motor imagery with selective sensation toward a hybrid-modality BCI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Lin; Meng, Jianjun; Zhang, Dingguo; Sheng, Xinjun; Zhu, Xiangyang

    2014-08-01

    A hybrid modality brain-computer interface (BCI) is proposed in this paper, which combines motor imagery with selective sensation to enhance the discrimination between left and right mental tasks, e.g., the classification between left/ right stimulation sensation and right/ left motor imagery. In this paradigm, wearable vibrotactile rings are used to stimulate both the skin on both wrists. Subjects are required to perform the mental tasks according to the randomly presented cues (i.e., left hand motor imagery, right hand motor imagery, left stimulation sensation or right stimulation sensation). Two-way ANOVA statistical analysis showed a significant group effect (F (2,20) = 7.17, p = 0.0045), and the Benferroni-corrected multiple comparison test (with α = 0.05) showed that the hybrid modality group is 11.13% higher on average than the motor imagery group, and 10.45% higher than the selective sensation group. The hybrid modality experiment exhibits potentially wider spread usage within ten subjects crossed 70% accuracy, followed by four subjects in motor imagery and five subjects in selective sensation. Six subjects showed statistically significant improvement ( Benferroni-corrected) in hybrid modality in comparison with both motor imagery and selective sensation. Furthermore, among subjects having difficulties in both motor imagery and selective sensation, the hybrid modality improves their performance to 90% accuracy. The proposed hybrid modality BCI has demonstrated clear benefits for those poorly performing BCI users. Not only does the requirement of motor and sensory anticipation in this hybrid modality provide basic function of BCI for communication and control, it also has the potential for enhancing the rehabilitation during motor recovery.

  20. Parallel Alterations of Functional Connectivity during Execution and Imagination after Motor Imagery Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Rushao; Hui, Mingqi; Long, Zhiying; Zhao, Xiaojie; Yao, Li

    2012-01-01

    Background Neural substrates underlying motor learning have been widely investigated with neuroimaging technologies. Investigations have illustrated the critical regions of motor learning and further revealed parallel alterations of functional activation during imagination and execution after learning. However, little is known about the functional connectivity associated with motor learning, especially motor imagery learning, although benefits from functional connectivity analysis attract more attention to the related explorations. We explored whether motor imagery (MI) and motor execution (ME) shared parallel alterations of functional connectivity after MI learning. Methodology/Principal Findings Graph theory analysis, which is widely used in functional connectivity exploration, was performed on the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of MI and ME tasks before and after 14 days of consecutive MI learning. The control group had no learning. Two measures, connectivity degree and interregional connectivity, were calculated and further assessed at a statistical level. Two interesting results were obtained: (1) The connectivity degree of the right posterior parietal lobe decreased in both MI and ME tasks after MI learning in the experimental group; (2) The parallel alterations of interregional connectivity related to the right posterior parietal lobe occurred in the supplementary motor area for both tasks. Conclusions/Significance These computational results may provide the following insights: (1) The establishment of motor schema through MI learning may induce the significant decrease of connectivity degree in the posterior parietal lobe; (2) The decreased interregional connectivity between the supplementary motor area and the right posterior parietal lobe in post-test implicates the dissociation between motor learning and task performing. These findings and explanations further revealed the neural substrates underpinning MI learning and supported that

  1. The neural career of sensory-motor metaphors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, Rutvik H; Binder, Jeffrey R; Conant, Lisa L; Mano, Quintino R; Seidenberg, Mark S

    2011-09-01

    The role of sensory-motor systems in conceptual understanding has been controversial. It has been proposed that many abstract concepts are understood metaphorically through concrete sensory-motor domains such as actions. Using fMRI, we compared neural responses with literal action (Lit; The daughter grasped the flowers), metaphoric action (Met; The public grasped the idea), and abstract (Abs; The public understood the idea) sentences of varying familiarity. Both Lit and Met sentences activated the left anterior inferior parietal lobule, an area involved in action planning, with Met sentences also activating a homologous area in the right hemisphere, relative to Abs sentences. Both Met and Abs sentences activated the left superior temporal regions associated with abstract language. Importantly, activation in primary motor and biological motion perception regions was inversely correlated with Lit and Met familiarity. These results support the view that the understanding of metaphoric action retains a link to sensory-motor systems involved in action performance. However, the involvement of sensory-motor systems in metaphor understanding changes through a gradual abstraction process whereby relatively detailed simulations are used for understanding unfamiliar metaphors, and these simulations become less detailed and involve only secondary motor regions as familiarity increases. Consistent with these data, we propose that anterior inferior parietal lobule serves as an interface between sensory-motor and conceptual systems and plays an important role in both domains. The similarity of abstract and metaphoric sentences in the activation of left superior temporal regions suggests that action metaphor understanding is not completely based on sensory-motor simulations but relies also on abstract lexical-semantic codes.

  2. Age-specific activation of cerebral areas in motor imagery - a fMRI study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Li [Chongqing University, Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing (China); Third Military Medical University, Department of Medical Image, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing (China); Qiu, Mingguo; Zhang, Jingna; Zhang, Ye; Sang, Linqiong [Third Military Medical University, Department of Medical Image, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing (China); Liu, Chen; Yang, Jun [Third Military Medical University, Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing (China); Yan, Rubing [Third Military Medical University, Department of Rehabilitation, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing (China); Zheng, Xiaolin [Chongqing University, Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing (China)

    2014-04-15

    The objectives of this study were to study the age-specific activation patterns of cerebral areas during motor execution (ME) and motor imaging (MI) of the upper extremities and to discuss the age-related neural mechanisms associated with ME or MI. The functional magnetic resonance imaging technique was used to monitor the pattern and intensity of brain activation during the ME and MI of the upper extremities in 20 elderly (>50 years) and 19 young healthy subjects (<25 years). No major differences were identified regarding the activated brain areas during ME or MI between the two groups; however, a minor difference was noted. The intensity of the activated brain area during ME was stronger in the older group than in the younger group, while the results with MI were the opposite. The posterior central gyrus and supplementary motor area during MI were more active in the younger group than in the older group. The putamen, lingual, and so on demonstrated stronger activation during dominant hand MI in the older group. The results of this study revealed that the brain structure was altered and that neuronal activity was attenuated with age, and the cerebral cortex and subcortical tissues were found to be over-activated to achieve the same level of ME and MI, indicating that the activating effects of the left hemisphere enhanced with age, whereas the inhibitory effects declined during ME, and activation of the right hemisphere became more difficult during MI. (orig.)

  3. Age-specific activation of cerebral areas in motor imagery - a fMRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Li; Qiu, Mingguo; Zhang, Jingna; Zhang, Ye; Sang, Linqiong; Liu, Chen; Yang, Jun; Yan, Rubing; Zheng, Xiaolin

    2014-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to study the age-specific activation patterns of cerebral areas during motor execution (ME) and motor imaging (MI) of the upper extremities and to discuss the age-related neural mechanisms associated with ME or MI. The functional magnetic resonance imaging technique was used to monitor the pattern and intensity of brain activation during the ME and MI of the upper extremities in 20 elderly (>50 years) and 19 young healthy subjects (<25 years). No major differences were identified regarding the activated brain areas during ME or MI between the two groups; however, a minor difference was noted. The intensity of the activated brain area during ME was stronger in the older group than in the younger group, while the results with MI were the opposite. The posterior central gyrus and supplementary motor area during MI were more active in the younger group than in the older group. The putamen, lingual, and so on demonstrated stronger activation during dominant hand MI in the older group. The results of this study revealed that the brain structure was altered and that neuronal activity was attenuated with age, and the cerebral cortex and subcortical tissues were found to be over-activated to achieve the same level of ME and MI, indicating that the activating effects of the left hemisphere enhanced with age, whereas the inhibitory effects declined during ME, and activation of the right hemisphere became more difficult during MI. (orig.)

  4. Motor Speech Apraxia in a 70-Year-Old Man with Left Dorsolateral Frontal Arachnoid Cyst: A [18F]FDG PET-CT Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolaas I. Bohnen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Motor speech apraxia is a speech disorder of impaired syllable sequencing which, when seen with advancing age, is suggestive of a neurodegenerative process affecting cortical structures in the left frontal lobe. Arachnoid cysts can be associated with neurologic symptoms due to compression of underlying brain structures though indications for surgical intervention are unclear. We present the case of a 70-year-old man who presented with a two-year history of speech changes along with decreased initiation and talkativeness, shorter utterances, and dysnomia. [18F]Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG Positron Emission and Computed Tomography (PET-CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI showed very focal left frontal cortical hypometabolism immediately adjacent to an arachnoid cyst but no specific evidence of a neurodegenerative process.

  5. Altered resting-state effective connectivity of fronto-parietal motor control systems on the primary motor network following stroke

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inman, Cory S.; James, G. Andrew; Hamann, Stephan; Rajendra, Justin K.; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Butler, Andrew J.

    2011-01-01

    Previous brain imaging work suggests that stroke alters the effective connectivity (the influence neural regions exert upon each other) of motor execution networks. The present study examines the intrinsic effective connectivity of top-down motor control in stroke survivors (n=13) relative to healthy participants (n=12). Stroke survivors exhibited significant deficits in motor function, as assessed by the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) of resting-state fMRI data to investigate the relationship between motor deficits and the intrinsic effective connectivity between brain regions involved in motor control and motor execution. An exploratory adaptation of SEM determined the optimal model of motor execution effective connectivity in healthy participants, and confirmatory SEM assessed stroke survivors’ fit to that model. We observed alterations in spontaneous resting-state effective connectivity from fronto-parietal guidance systems to the motor network in stroke survivors. More specifically, diminished connectivity was found in connections from the superior parietal cortex to primary motor cortex and supplementary motor cortex. Furthermore, the paths demonstrated large individual variance in stroke survivors but less variance in healthy participants. These findings suggest that characterizing the deficits in resting-state connectivity of top-down processes in stroke survivors may help optimize cognitive and physical rehabilitation therapies by individually targeting specific neural pathway. PMID:21839174

  6. Monitoring Local Regional Hemodynamic Signal Changes during Motor Execution and Motor Imagery Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naoki eIso

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to clarify the topographical localization of motor-related regional hemodynamic signal changes during motor execution (ME and motor imagery (MI by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS, as this technique is more clinically expedient than established methods (e.g. fMRI. Twenty right-handed healthy subjects participated in this study. The experimental protocol was a blocked design consisting of 3 cycles of 20 s of task performance and 30 s of rest. The tapping sequence task was performed with their fingers under 4 conditions: ME and MI with the right or left hand. Hemodynamic brain activity was measured with NIRS to monitor changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb concentration. Oxy-Hb in the somatosensory motor cortex (SMC increased significantly only during contralateral ME and showed a significant interaction between task and hand. There was a main effect of hand in the left SMC. Although there were no significant main effects or interactions in the supplemental motor area (SMA and premotor area (PMA, oxy-Hb increased substantially under all conditions. These results clarified the topographical localization by motor-related regional hemodynamic signal changes during ME and MI by using NIRS.

  7. [Motor neglect of thalamic origin: report on two cases (author's transl)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laplane, D; Escourolle, R; Degos, J D; Sauron, B; Massiou, H

    1982-01-01

    Two cases of thalamic lesions with motor neglect are presented. The syndrome of motor neglect was complete in those cases with a) underutilization of left limbs, but good utilization upon verbal orders, b) loss of placement reaction, c) weakness of movement when hand was approaching the target, d) weakness of motor reaction to nociceptive stimuli. Those cases confirm that motor neglect exists after thalamic lesions and bring pathologic clues for topographic discussion. Motor neglect seems to be a particular case of partial unilateral neglect throwing some doubt on the hypothesis of a global trouble of hemispheric activation. Prevalence of left motor neglects suggests some linkage between propositional motility and language. One may suppose that in the right hemisphere language is able to have a vicarious action when spontaneous activation is lost; at the opposite, in the left hemisphere language and motility would be too linked to let this dissociation be generally possible.

  8. Motor recovery by improvement of limb-kinetic apraxia in a chronic stroke patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Sung Ho

    2013-01-01

    We report on a chronic stroke patient who showed motor recovery by improvement of limb-kinetic apraxia (LKA) after undergoing intensive rehabilitation for a period of one month, which was demonstrated by diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A 50-year-old male patient presented with severe paralysis of the left extremities at the onset of thalamic hemorrhage. At thirty months after onset, the patient exhibited moderate weakness of his left upper and lower extremities. In addition, he exhibited a slow, clumsy, and mutilated movement pattern during grasp-release movements of his left hand. During a one-month period of intensive rehabilitation, which was started at thrity months after onset, the patient showed 22% motor recovery of the left extremities. The slow, clumsy, and mutilated movement pattern of the left hand almost disappeared. DTTs of the corticospinal tract (CST) in both hemispheres originated from the cerebral cortex, including the primary motor cortex, and passed along the known CST pathway. The DTT of the right CST was located anterior to the old hemorrhagic lesion. TMS study performed at thirty and thirty-one months after onset showed normal and similar findings for motor evoked potential in terms of latency and amplitude of the left hand muscle. We think that the motor weakness of the left extremities in this patient was mainly ascribed to LKA and that most of the motor recovery during a one-month period of rehabilitation was attributed to improvement of LKA.

  9. Functional connectivity between somatosensory and motor brain areas predicts individual differences in motor learning by observing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGregor, Heather R; Gribble, Paul L

    2017-08-01

    Action observation can facilitate the acquisition of novel motor skills; however, there is considerable individual variability in the extent to which observation promotes motor learning. Here we tested the hypothesis that individual differences in brain function or structure can predict subsequent observation-related gains in motor learning. Subjects underwent an anatomical MRI scan and resting-state fMRI scans to assess preobservation gray matter volume and preobservation resting-state functional connectivity (FC), respectively. On the following day, subjects observed a video of a tutor adapting her reaches to a novel force field. After observation, subjects performed reaches in a force field as a behavioral assessment of gains in motor learning resulting from observation. We found that individual differences in resting-state FC, but not gray matter volume, predicted postobservation gains in motor learning. Preobservation resting-state FC between left primary somatosensory cortex and bilateral dorsal premotor cortex, primary motor cortex, and primary somatosensory cortex and left superior parietal lobule was positively correlated with behavioral measures of postobservation motor learning. Sensory-motor resting-state FC can thus predict the extent to which observation will promote subsequent motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that individual differences in preobservation brain function can predict subsequent observation-related gains in motor learning. Preobservation resting-state functional connectivity within a sensory-motor network may be used as a biomarker for the extent to which observation promotes motor learning. This kind of information may be useful if observation is to be used as a way to boost neuroplasticity and sensory-motor recovery for patients undergoing rehabilitation for diseases that impair movement such as stroke. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  10. Effector-independent brain activity during motor imagery of the upper and lower limbs: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuguchi, Nobuaki; Nakata, Hiroki; Kanosue, Kazuyuki

    2014-10-03

    We utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate the common brain region of motor imagery for the right and left upper and lower limbs. The subjects were instructed to repeatedly imagined extension and flexion of the right or left hands/ankles. Brain regions, which included the supplemental motor area (SMA), premotor cortex and parietal cortex, were activated during motor imagery. Conjunction analysis revealed that the left SMA and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)/ventral premotor cortex (vPM) were commonly activated with motor imagery of the right hand, left hand, right foot, and left foot. This result suggests that these brain regions are activated during motor imagery in an effector independent manner. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Neural correlates of successful and unsuccessful syntactic processing in primary progressive aphasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen M Wilson

    2015-04-01

    Our findings suggest that some of the regions modulated by a syntactic processing task reflect task-related functions such as working memory, attention, and executive function, specifically the anterior insula bilaterally, the supplementary motor cortex bilaterally, and left dorsal premotor cortex. In contrast, other regions were modulated only in individuals with relatively intact syntactic processing, namely the left inferior frontal junction, left posterior superior temporal sulcus, and left intraparietal sulcus, suggesting that these regions are important for syntactic processing.

  12. Rhythm information represented in the fronto-parieto-cerebellar motor system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konoike, Naho; Kotozaki, Yuka; Miyachi, Shigehiro; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Yomogida, Yukihito; Akimoto, Yoritaka; Kuraoka, Koji; Sugiura, Motoaki; Kawashima, Ryuta; Nakamura, Katsuki

    2012-10-15

    Rhythm is an essential element of human culture, particularly in language and music. To acquire language or music, we have to perceive the sensory inputs, organize them into structured sequences as rhythms, actively hold the rhythm information in mind, and use the information when we reproduce or mimic the same rhythm. Previous brain imaging studies have elucidated brain regions related to the perception and production of rhythms. However, the neural substrates involved in the working memory of rhythm remain unclear. In addition, little is known about the processing of rhythm information from non-auditory inputs (visual or tactile). Therefore, we measured brain activity by functional magnetic resonance imaging while healthy subjects memorized and reproduced auditory and visual rhythmic information. The inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and cerebellum exhibited significant activations during both encoding and retrieving rhythm information. In addition, most of these areas exhibited significant activation also during the maintenance of rhythm information. All of these regions functioned in the processing of auditory and visual rhythms. The bilateral inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, and cerebellum are thought to be essential for motor control. When we listen to a certain rhythm, we are often stimulated to move our body, which suggests the existence of a strong interaction between rhythm processing and the motor system. Here, we propose that rhythm information may be represented and retained as information about bodily movements in the supra-modal motor brain system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Charting the excitability of premotor to motor connections while withholding or initiating a selected movement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kroeger, Johan; Bäumer, Tobias; Jonas, Melanie

    2010-01-01

    In 19 healthy volunteers, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to probe the excitability in pathways linking the left dorsal premotor cortex and right primary motor cortex and those linking the left and right motor cortex during the response delay and the reaction time period while...... subjects performed a delayed response [symbol 1 (S1) - symbol 2 (S2)] Go-NoGo reaction time task with visual cues. Conditioning TMS pulses were applied to the left premotor or left motor cortex 8 ms before a test pulse was given to the right motor cortex at 300 or 1800 ms after S1 or 150 ms after S2. S1...... coded for right-hand or left-hand movement, and S2 for release or stopping the prepared movement. Conditioning of the left premotor cortex led to interhemispheric inhibition at 300 ms post-S1, interhemispheric facilitation at 150 ms post-S2, and shorter reaction times in the move-left condition...

  14. Hypoactivation of the primary sensorimotor cortex in de novo Parkinson's disease. A motor fMRI study under controlled conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tessa, Carlo; Vignali, Claudio; Lucetti, Claudio; Diciotti, Stefano; Paoli, Lorenzo; Ginestroni, Andrea; Mascalchi, Mario; Cecchi, Paolo; Baldacci, Filippo; Giannelli, Marco; Bonuccelli, Ubaldo

    2012-01-01

    Nuclear medicine studies in Parkinson's disease (PD) indicate that nigrostriatal damage causes a widespread cortical hypoactivity assumed to be due to reduced excitatory thalamic outflow. However, so far, functional MRI (fMRI) studies have provided controversial data about this ''functional deafferentation'' phenomenon. To further clarify this issue, we assessed, with fMRI, de novo drug-naive PD patients using a relatively complex motor task under strictly controlled conditions. Nineteen de novo PD patients with right-predominant or bilateral symptoms and 13 age-matched healthy volunteers performed continuous writing of ''8'' figures with the right-dominant hand using a MR-compatible device that enables identification of incorrectly performed tasks and measures the size and the frequency of the ''8''s. The data were analyzed with FSL software and correlated with the clinical severity rated according to the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) staging system. Fifteen (89%) of 19 PD patients and 12 (92%) of 13 controls correctly executed the task. PD patients showed significant hypoactivation of the left primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) and cerebellum and no hyperactive areas as compared to controls. However, activation in SM1 and supplementary motor area bilaterally, in left supramarginal, parietal inferior, parietal superior and frontal superior gyri as well as in right parietal superior and angular gyri paralleled increasing disease severity as assessed with the HY stage. In line with the ''deafferentation hypothesis'', fMRI demonstrates hypoactivation of the SM1 in the early clinical stage of PD. (orig.)

  15. Left neglect dyslexia: Perseveration and reading error types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronchi, Roberta; Algeri, Lorella; Chiapella, Laura; Gallucci, Marcello; Spada, Maria Simonetta; Vallar, Giuseppe

    2016-08-01

    Right-brain-damaged patients may show a reading disorder termed neglect dyslexia. Patients with left neglect dyslexia omit letters on the left-hand-side (the beginning, when reading left-to-right) part of the letter string, substitute them with other letters, and add letters to the left of the string. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of association, if any, between error types in patients with left neglect dyslexia and recurrent perseveration (a productive visuo-motor deficit characterized by addition of marks) in target cancellation. Specifically, we aimed at assessing whether different productive symptoms (relative to the reading and the visuo-motor domains) could be associated in patients with left spatial neglect. Fifty-four right-brain-damaged patients took part in the study: 50 out of the 54 patients showed left spatial neglect, with 27 of them also exhibiting left neglect dyslexia. Neglect dyslexic patients who showed perseveration produced mainly substitution neglect errors in reading. Conversely, omissions were the prevailing reading error pattern in neglect dyslexic patients without perseveration. Addition reading errors were much infrequent. Different functional pathological mechanisms may underlie omission and substitution reading errors committed by right-brain-damaged patients with left neglect dyslexia. One such mechanism, involving the defective stopping of inappropriate responses, may contribute to both recurrent perseveration in target cancellation, and substitution errors in reading. Productive pathological phenomena, together with deficits of spatial attention to events taking place on the left-hand-side of space, shape the manifestations of neglect dyslexia, and, more generally, of spatial neglect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Supplementary information

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary information. Flexible synthesis of isomeric pyranoindolones and evaluation of cytotoxicity towards HeLa cells. J C JEYAVEERANa, CHANDRASEKAR PRAVEEN*,b, Y ARUNc, A A M PRINCEa and P. T PERUMALc. aDepartment of Chemistry, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Mylapore, Chennai.

  17. Sexually dimorphic functional connectivity in response to high vs. low energy-dense food cues in obese humans: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atalayer, Deniz; Pantazatos, Spiro P; Gibson, Charlisa D; McOuatt, Haley; Puma, Lauren; Astbury, Nerys M; Geliebter, Allan

    2014-10-15

    Sexually-dimorphic behavioral and biological aspects of human eating have been described. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis, we investigated sex-based differences in functional connectivity with a key emotion-processing region (amygdala, AMG) and a key reward-processing area (ventral striatum, VS) in response to high vs. low energy-dense (ED) food images using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in obese persons in fasted and fed states. When fed, in response to high vs. low-ED food cues, obese men (vs. women) had greater functional connectivity with AMG in right subgenual anterior cingulate, whereas obese women had greater functional connectivity with AMG in left angular gyrus and right primary motor areas. In addition, when fed, AMG functional connectivity with pre/post-central gyrus was more associated with BMI in women (vs. men). When fasted, obese men (vs. women) had greater functional connectivity with AMG in bilateral supplementary frontal and primary motor areas, left precuneus, and right cuneus, whereas obese women had greater functional connectivity with AMG in left inferior frontal gyrus, right thalamus, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. When fed, greater functional connectivity with VS was observed in men in bilateral supplementary and primary motor areas, left postcentral gyrus, and left precuneus. These sex-based differences in functional connectivity in response to visual food cues may help partly explain differential eating behavior, pathology prevalence, and outcomes in men and women. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  18. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the supplementary motor area in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: An open-label pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Young-Ji; Koo, Bon-Hoon; Seo, Wan-Seok; Kim, Hye-Geum; Kim, Ji-Yean; Cheon, Eun-Jin

    2017-10-01

    Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severely distressing disorder represented by obsessions and compulsions. A significant proportion of OCD patients fail to improve with conventional treatment methods. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been proposed as an alternative for OCD treatment. Functional neuroimaging studies indicate that OCD is associated with increased activity in the supplementary motor area (SMA), a region that plays an important role in the pathophysiology of this disorder. In this study, we assessed the efficacy of augmentation with 1Hz rTMS over the SMA in treatment-resistant OCD patients. The participants received 1Hz rTMS over the SMA in 20 daily sessions for 4weeks. We observed significant reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score at the 4th week of the treatment. Reduction in compulsion contributed to the reduction of global Y-BOCS whereas there was no significant reduction in obsession. Clinical global impression-global improvement also showed significant change at the 2nd and 4th week of the treatment. No additional significant changes or significant adverse effects were seen. These findings suggest that 1Hz rTMS over the SMA can be an efficient and safe add-on therapeutic method in treatment-resistant patients with OCD. Further controlled studies in larger samples are required to confirm the effect of 1Hz rTMS over the SMA in OCD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Abnormal resting-state connectivity of motor and cognitive networks in early manifest Huntington's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, R C; Sambataro, F; Vasic, N; Depping, M S; Thomann, P A; Landwehrmeyer, G B; Süssmuth, S D; Orth, M

    2014-11-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of multiple neural networks during the brain's 'resting state' could facilitate biomarker development in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and may provide new insights into the relationship between neural dysfunction and clinical symptoms. To date, however, very few studies have examined the functional integrity of multiple resting state networks (RSNs) in manifest HD, and even less is known about whether concomitant brain atrophy affects neural activity in patients. Using MRI, we investigated brain structure and RSN function in patients with early HD (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 20). For resting-state fMRI data a group-independent component analysis identified spatiotemporally distinct patterns of motor and prefrontal RSNs of interest. We used voxel-based morphometry to assess regional brain atrophy, and 'biological parametric mapping' analyses to investigate the impact of atrophy on neural activity. Compared with controls, patients showed connectivity changes within distinct neural systems including lateral prefrontal, supplementary motor, thalamic, cingulate, temporal and parietal regions. In patients, supplementary motor area and cingulate cortex connectivity indices were associated with measures of motor function, whereas lateral prefrontal connectivity was associated with cognition. This study provides evidence for aberrant connectivity of RSNs associated with motor function and cognition in early manifest HD when controlling for brain atrophy. This suggests clinically relevant changes of RSN activity in the presence of HD-associated cortical and subcortical structural abnormalities.

  20. Supplementary data:

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    charissa

    Supplementary data: Table 1. Oligonucleotide primers used for SNP verification by Sanger sequencing. Oligo. 5' – 3' sequence. Product size (bp). Annealing temperature (°C). katG_L gccggtcaagaagaagtacg. 591. 67. katG_R ctcttcgtcagctcccactc. rpoB_La ctgatccaaaaccagatccg. 440. 64. rpoB_Ra tacacgatctcgtcgctaac.

  1. Neurophysiology of spontaneous facial expressions: I. Motor control of the upper and lower face is behaviorally independent in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Elliott D; Gupta, Smita S; Adnan, Asif M; Holden, Thomas L; Havlicek, Joseph; Radhakrishnan, Sridhar

    2016-03-01

    Facial expressions are described traditionally as monolithic entities. However, humans have the capacity to produce facial blends, in which the upper and lower face simultaneously display different emotional expressions. This, in turn, has led to the Component Theory of facial expressions. Recent neuroanatomical studies in monkeys have demonstrated that there are separate cortical motor areas for controlling the upper and lower face that, presumably, also occur in humans. The lower face is represented on the posterior ventrolateral surface of the frontal lobes in the primary motor and premotor cortices and the upper face is represented on the medial surface of the posterior frontal lobes in the supplementary motor and anterior cingulate cortices. Our laboratory has been engaged in a series of studies exploring the perception and production of facial blends. Using high-speed videography, we began measuring the temporal aspects of facial expressions to develop a more complete understanding of the neurophysiology underlying facial expressions and facial blends. The goal of the research presented here was to determine if spontaneous facial expressions in adults are predominantly monolithic or exhibit independent motor control of the upper and lower face. We found that spontaneous facial expressions are very complex and that the motor control of the upper and lower face is overwhelmingly independent, thus robustly supporting the Component Theory of facial expressions. Seemingly monolithic expressions, be they full facial or facial blends, are most likely the result of a timing coincident rather than a synchronous coordination between the ventrolateral and medial cortical motor areas responsible for controlling the lower and upper face, respectively. In addition, we found evidence that the right and left face may also exhibit independent motor control, thus supporting the concept that spontaneous facial expressions are organized predominantly across the horizontal facial

  2. Clinical studies of brain functional images by motor activation using single photon emission computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawaguchi, Masahiro [Gifu Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine

    1998-09-01

    Thirty participants (10 normal controls; group A, 5 patients with brain tumors located near central sulcus without hemiparesis; group B, 10 patients with brain tumors located near central sulcus with hemiparesis; group C, and 5 patients with brain tumors besides the central regions with hemiparesis; group D) were enrolled. The images were performed by means of split-dose method with {sup 99m}Tc-ECD at rest condition (SPECT 1) and during hand grasping (SPECT 2). The activation SPECT were obtained by subtracting SPECT 1 from SPECT 2, and the functional mapping was made by the strict registration of the activation SPECT with 3D MRI. To evaluate the changes of CBF (%{Delta}CBF) of the sensorimotor and supplementary motor areas on the functional mapping, ratio of the average counts of SPECT 1 and SPECT 2 was calculated and statistically compared. The functional activation paradigms caused a significant increase of CBF in the sensorimotor area contra-lateral to the stimulated hand, although the sensorimotor area and the central sulcus in groups B and C were dislocated, compared with hemisphere of non-tumor side. The sensorimotor area ipsi-lateral to the stimulated hand could be detected in almost of all subjects. The supplementary motor area could be detected in all subjects. In group A, the average %{Delta}CBF were up 24.1{+-}4.3% in the contra-lateral sensorimotor area, and 22.3{+-}3.6% in the supplementary motor area, respectively. The average %{Delta}CBF in the contra-lateral sensorimotor area of group D was significantly higher than that of group A. The brain functional mapping by motor activation using SPECT could localize the area of cortical motor function in normal volunteers and patients with brain tumors. The changes of regional CBF by activation SPECT precisely assess the cortical motor function even in patients with brain tumors located near central sulcus. (K.H.)

  3. Clinical studies of brain functional images by motor activation using single photon emission computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawaguchi, Masahiro

    1998-01-01

    Thirty participants (10 normal controls; group A, 5 patients with brain tumors located near central sulcus without hemiparesis; group B, 10 patients with brain tumors located near central sulcus with hemiparesis; group C, and 5 patients with brain tumors besides the central regions with hemiparesis; group D) were enrolled. The images were performed by means of split-dose method with 99m Tc-ECD at rest condition (SPECT 1) and during hand grasping (SPECT 2). The activation SPECT were obtained by subtracting SPECT 1 from SPECT 2, and the functional mapping was made by the strict registration of the activation SPECT with 3D MRI. To evaluate the changes of CBF (%ΔCBF) of the sensorimotor and supplementary motor areas on the functional mapping, ratio of the average counts of SPECT 1 and SPECT 2 was calculated and statistically compared. The functional activation paradigms caused a significant increase of CBF in the sensorimotor area contra-lateral to the stimulated hand, although the sensorimotor area and the central sulcus in groups B and C were dislocated, compared with hemisphere of non-tumor side. The sensorimotor area ipsi-lateral to the stimulated hand could be detected in almost of all subjects. The supplementary motor area could be detected in all subjects. In group A, the average %ΔCBF were up 24.1±4.3% in the contra-lateral sensorimotor area, and 22.3±3.6% in the supplementary motor area, respectively. The average %ΔCBF in the contra-lateral sensorimotor area of group D was significantly higher than that of group A. The brain functional mapping by motor activation using SPECT could localize the area of cortical motor function in normal volunteers and patients with brain tumors. The changes of regional CBF by activation SPECT precisely assess the cortical motor function even in patients with brain tumors located near central sulcus. (K.H.)

  4. 12038_2016_9620_Supplementary 1..3

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    lactamases and integron-bearing gut bacteria. Supplementary material. Supplementary table 1. Prevalence of resistance factors in the bacterial strains isolated from Tilapia gut. Isolate code. Identification. IntI1. IntI2. blaSHV. blaOXA aac(6')-Ib-cr.

  5. Supplementary data:

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Acer

    Supplementary data: Table 1. Collection localities of C. mystaceus in Thailand. Pop. Code N. Province. District. Region. 1. BRk. 9. Buri Ram. Krasang. Northeast. 2. CPm. 5. Chaiyaphum. Mueang. Northeast. 3. KKk. 5. Khon Kaen. Kranuan. Northeast. 4. KKm. 5. Khon Kaen. Mueang. Northeast. 5. KKu. 4. Khon Kaen.

  6. Effects of 10 Hz and 20 Hz Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Automatic Motor Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappon, Davide; D'Ostilio, Kevin; Garraux, Gaëtan; Rothwell, John; Bisiacchi, Patrizia

    2016-01-01

    In a masked prime choice reaction task, presentation of a compatible prime increases the reaction time to the following imperative stimulus if the interval between mask and prime is around 80-250 ms. This is thought to be due to automatic suppression of the motor plan evoked by the prime, which delays reaction to the imperative stimulus. Oscillatory activity in motor networks around the beta frequency range of 20 Hz is important in suppression of movement. Transcranial alternating current at 20 Hz may be able to drive oscillations in the beta range. To investigate whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at 20 Hz would increase automatic inhibition in a masked prime task. As a control we used 10 Hz tACS. Stimulation was delivered at alpha (10 Hz) and beta (20 Hz) frequency over the supplementary motor area and the primary motor cortex (simultaneous tACS of SMA-M1), which are part of the BG-cortical motor loop, during the execution of the subliminal masked prime left/right choice reaction task. We measured the effects on reaction times. Corticospinal excitability was assessed by measuring the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) evoked in the first dorsal interosseous muscle by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over M1. The 10 and 20-Hz tACS over SMA-M1 had different effects on automatic inhibition. The 20 Hz tACS increased the duration of automatic inhibition whereas it was decreased by 10 Hz tACS. Neurophysiologically, 20 Hz tACS reduced the amplitude of MEPs evoked from M1, whereas there was no change after 10 Hz tACS. Automatic mechanisms of motor inhibition can be modulated by tACS over motor areas of cortex. tACS may be a useful additional tool to investigate the causal links between endogenous brain oscillations and specific cognitive processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Lateralization of brain activity pattern during unilateral movement in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Tao; Hou, Yanan; Hallett, Mark; Zhang, Jiarong; Chan, Piu

    2015-05-01

    We investigated the lateralization of brain activity pattern during performance of unilateral movement in drug-naïve Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with only right hemiparkinsonian symptoms. Functional MRI was obtained when the subjects performed strictly unilateral right hand movement. A laterality index was calculated to examine the lateralization. Patients had decreased activity in the left putamen and left supplementary motor area, but had increased activity in the right primary motor cortex, right premotor cortex, left postcentral gyrus, and bilateral cerebellum. The laterality index was significantly decreased in PD patients compared with controls (0.41 ± 0.14 vs. 0.84 ± 0.09). The connectivity from the left putamen to cortical motor regions and cerebellum was decreased, while the interactions between the cortical motor regions, cerebellum, and right putamen were increased. Our study demonstrates that in early PD, the lateralization of brain activity during unilateral movement is significantly reduced. The dysfunction of the striatum-cortical circuit, decreased transcallosal inhibition, and compensatory efforts from cortical motor regions, cerebellum, and the less affected striatum are likely reasons contributing to the reduced motor lateralization. The disruption of the lateralized brain activity pattern might be a reason underlying some motor deficits in PD, like mirror movements or impaired bilateral motor coordination. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. Aversive stimuli exacerbate defensive motor behaviour in motor conversion disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blakemore, Rebekah L; Sinanaj, Indrit; Galli, Silvio; Aybek, Selma; Vuilleumier, Patrik

    2016-12-01

    Conversion disorder or functional neurological symptom disorder (FND) can affect the voluntary motor system, without an organic cause. Functional symptoms are thought to be generated unconsciously, arising from underlying psychological stressors. However, attempts to demonstrate a direct relationship between the limbic system and disrupted motor function in FND are lacking. We tested whether negative affect would exacerbate alterations of motor control and corresponding brain activations in individuals with FND. Ten patients and ten healthy controls produced an isometric precision-grip contraction at 10% of maximum force while either viewing visual feedback of their force output, or unpleasant or pleasant emotional images (without feedback). Force magnitude was continuously recorded together with change in brain activity using fMRI. For controls, force output decayed from the target level while viewing pleasant and unpleasant images. Patients however, maintained force at the target level without decay while viewing unpleasant images, indicating a pronounced effect of negative affect on force output in FND. This emotional modulation of force control was associated with different brain activation patterns between groups. Contrasting the unpleasant with the pleasant condition, controls showed increased activity in the inferior frontal cortex and pre-supplementary motor area, whereas patients had greater activity in the cerebellum (vermis), posterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus. Engagement of a cerebellar-limbic network in patients is consistent with heightened processing of emotional salience, and supports the role of the cerebellum in freezing responses in the presence of aversive events. These data highlight a possible neural circuit through which psychological stressors elicit defensive behaviour and modulate motor function in FND. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Detection of hand and leg motor tract injury using novel diffusion tensor MRI tractography in children with central motor dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Jeong-Won; Lee, Jessica; Kamson, David O; Chugani, Harry T; Juhász, Csaba

    2015-09-01

    To examine whether an objective segmenation of corticospinal tract (CST) associated with hand and leg movements can be used to detect central motor weakness in the corresponding extremities in a pediatric population. This retrospective study included diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of 25 children with central paresis affecting at least one limb (age: 9.0±4.2years, 15 boys, 5/13/7 children with left/right/both hemispheric lesions including ischemia, cyst, and gliosis), as well as 42 pediatric control subjects with no motor dysfunction (age: 9.0±5.5years, 21 boys, 31 healthy/11 non-lesional epilepsy children). Leg- and hand-related CST pathways were segmented using DTI-maximum a posteriori (DTI-MAP) classification. The resulting CST volumes were then divided by total supratentorial white matter volume, resulting in a marker called "normalized streamline volume ratio (NSVR)" to quantify the degree of axonal loss in separate CST pathways associated with leg and hand motor functions. A receiver operating characteristic curve was applied to measure the accuracy of this marker to identify extremities with motor weakness. NSVR values of hand/leg CST selectively achieved the following values of accuracy/sensitivity/specificity: 0.84/0.84/0.57, 0.82/0.81/0.55, 0.78/0.75/0.55, 0.79/0.81/0.54 at a cut-off of 0.03/0.03/0.03/0.02 for right hand CST, left hand CST, right leg CST, and left leg CST, respectively. Motor weakness of hand and leg was most likely present at the cut-off values of hand and leg NSVR (i.e., 0.029/0.028/0.025/0.020 for left-hand/right-hand/left-leg/right-leg). The control group showed a moderate age-related increase in absolute CST volumes and a biphasic age-related variation of the normalized CST volumes, which were lacking in the paretic children. This study demonstrates that DTI-MAP classification may provide a new imaging tool to quantify axonal loss in children with central motor dysfunction. Using this technique, we found that early-life brain

  10. The effect of tumour type and distance on activation in the motor cortex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Wen-Ching; Feldman, Susan C.; Zimmerman, Aphrodite; Sinensky, Rebecca; Rao, Satyaveni; Schulder, Michael; Kalnin, Andrew J.; Holodny, Andrei I.

    2005-01-01

    Functional MRI has been widely used to identify the eloquent cortex in neurosurgical/radiosurgical planning and treatment of CNS neoplasms and malformations. In this study we examined the effect of CNS tumours on the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activation maps in the primary and supplementary motor cortex. A total of 33 tumour patients and five healthy right-handed adults were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into four groups based on tumour type and distance from primary motor cortex: (1) intra-axial, near, (2) extra-axial, near, (3) intra-axial, far and (4) extra-axial, far. The intra-axial groups consisted of patients with astrocytomas, glioblastomas and metastatic tumours of mixed histology; all the extra-axial tumours were meningiomas. The motor task was a bilateral, self-paced, finger-tapping paradigm. Anatomical and functional data were acquired with a 1.5 T GE Echospeed scanner. Maps of the motor areas were derived from the BOLD images, using SPM99 software. For each subject we first determined the activation volume in the primary motor area and the supplementary motor area (SMA) and then calculated the percentage difference between the hemispheres. Two factors influenced the activation volumes: tumour type (P<0.04) and distance from the eloquent cortex (P<0.06). Patients in group 1 (intra-axial, near) had the smallest activation area in the primary motor cortex, the greatest percentage difference in the activation volume between the hemispheres, and the largest activation volume in the SMA. Patients in group 4 (extra-axial, far) had the largest activation volume in the primary motor cortex, the least percentage difference in volume between the hemispheres, and the smallest activation volume in the SMA. There was no significant change in the volume of the SMA in any group, compared with controls, suggesting that, although there is a gradual decrease in SMA volume with distance from the primary motor area, the effect on motor

  11. Supplementary data:

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Plant Pathology

    Supplementary data: Table 1. Identification of various virulence factors in R. solanacearum: Rs-09-161, Rs-10-244, GMI1000. Gene name Rs-09-161 locus tag*. Accession no. Rs-10-244 locus tag*. Accesion no. GMI1000 locus tag. Location. Gene description. Exopolysacharide. epsA. RALSO161_m00209880 KY661391 ...

  12. Deficit in complex sequence processing after a virtual lesion of left BA45.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emeline Clerget

    Full Text Available Although the contribution of Broca's area to motor cognition is generally accepted, its exact role remains controversial. A previous functional imaging study has suggested that Broca's area implements hierarchically organised motor behaviours and, in particular, that its anterior (Brodmann area 45, BA45 and posterior (BA44 parts process, respectively, higher and lower-level hierarchical elements. This function of Broca's area could generalize to other cognitive functions, including language. However, because of the correlative nature of functional imaging data, the causal relationship between Broca's region activation and its behavioural significance cannot be ascertained. To circumvent this limitation, we used on-line repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to disrupt neuronal processing in left BA45, left BA44 or left dorsal premotor cortex, three areas that have been shown to exhibit a phasic activation when participants performed hierarchically organised motor behaviours. The experiment was conducted in healthy volunteers performing the same two key-press sequences as those used in a previous imaging study, and which differed in terms of hierarchical organisation. The performance of the lower-order hierarchical task (Experiment #1 was unaffected by magnetic stimulation. In contrast, in the higher-order hierarchical task (Experiment #2, "superordinate" task, we found that a virtual lesion of the anterior part of Broca's area (left BA45 delayed the processing of the cue initiating the sequence in an effector-independent way. Interestingly, in this task, the initiation cue only informed the subjects about the rules to be applied to produce the appropriate response but did not allow them to anticipate the entire motor sequence. A second important finding was a RT decrease following left PMd virtual lesions in the superordinate task, a result compatible with the view that PMd plays a critical role in impulse control. The present study

  13. The significance of clumsy gestures in apraxia following a left hemisphere stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kangas, Maria; Tate, Robyn L

    2006-02-01

    Individuals who sustain a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in the dominant (typically left) hemisphere, are at increased risk of developing motor skill deficits due to motor-sensory impairments, as well as cognitive impairments (e.g., apraxia). Clumsiness is a central component affecting motor skills in individuals with a left hemisphere CVA (LCVA). The term "clumsiness" however, has not been adequately operationalised in the apraxia literature in clinical terms, thereby making diagnosis difficult and its contribution to apraxic disorders uncertain. Accordingly, in this study "clumsiness" was explicitly defined by establishing a set of four criteria. The non-dominant (left) hand movements of three groups of participants were examined: 10 individuals with limb-apraxia (APX); 8 individuals without limb apraxia who had sustained a LCVA (NAPX); and 19 healthy individuals without a history of brain impairment (NBD). Performance was examined on four sets of motor tasks, including a conventional praxis test, basic perceptual-motor co-ordination and fine movement tasks, and a naturalistic actions test. A striking finding that emerged was that clumsy errors occurred frequently in all groups, including the NBD group, particularly on the praxis and fine motor tasks. In terms of quantity of clumsy errors emitted, the APX group made significantly more clumsy gestures across all four tasks in comparison to the NBD group. No differences emerged between the two clinical groups, however, in terms of total clumsy gestures emitted on the naturalistic action tasks, or the type of clumsy errors emitted on the fine motor tasks. Thus, frequency and types of clumsy gestures were partly determined by task demands. These results highlight the need to consider the contribution of clumsy gestures in limb functioning following hemispheric brain damage. In broad terms, these findings emphasise the importance of adopting more detailed analyses of movement errors in apraxia and assessments of

  14. Phonological memory in sign language relies on the visuomotor neural system outside the left hemisphere language network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanazawa, Yuji; Nakamura, Kimihiro; Ishii, Toru; Aso, Toshihiko; Yamazaki, Hiroshi; Omori, Koichi

    2017-01-01

    Sign language is an essential medium for everyday social interaction for deaf people and plays a critical role in verbal learning. In particular, language development in those people should heavily rely on the verbal short-term memory (STM) via sign language. Most previous studies compared neural activations during signed language processing in deaf signers and those during spoken language processing in hearing speakers. For sign language users, it thus remains unclear how visuospatial inputs are converted into the verbal STM operating in the left-hemisphere language network. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study investigated neural activation while bilinguals of spoken and signed language were engaged in a sequence memory span task. On each trial, participants viewed a nonsense syllable sequence presented either as written letters or as fingerspelling (4-7 syllables in length) and then held the syllable sequence for 12 s. Behavioral analysis revealed that participants relied on phonological memory while holding verbal information regardless of the type of input modality. At the neural level, this maintenance stage broadly activated the left-hemisphere language network, including the inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, superior temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule, for both letter and fingerspelling conditions. Interestingly, while most participants reported that they relied on phonological memory during maintenance, direct comparisons between letters and fingers revealed strikingly different patterns of neural activation during the same period. Namely, the effortful maintenance of fingerspelling inputs relative to letter inputs activated the left superior parietal lobule and dorsal premotor area, i.e., brain regions known to play a role in visuomotor analysis of hand/arm movements. These findings suggest that the dorsal visuomotor neural system subserves verbal learning via sign language by relaying gestural inputs to

  15. Concrete with supplementary cementitious materials

    OpenAIRE

    Jensen, Ole M; Kovler, Konstantin; De Belie, Nele

    2016-01-01

    This volume contains the proceedings of the MSSCE 2016 conference segment on “Concrete with Supplementary Cementitious Materials” (SCM). The conference segment is organized by the RILEM technical committee TC 238-SCM: Hydration and microstructure of concrete with supplementary cementitious materials. TC 238-SCM started activities in 2011 and has about 50 members from all over the world. The main objective of the committee is to support the increasing utilisation of hydraulic...

  16. Supplementary Material

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    mraga

    1. Supplementary Material. A soluble-lead Redox Flow Battery with corrugated graphite sheet and reticulated vitreous carbon as positive and negative current collectors by A Banerjee et al (pp 163-. 170). Figure S1. SEM images for bare substrates: (a) graphite sheet, (b) 20 ppi RVC, (c) 30 ppi. RVC and (d) 45 ppi RVC.

  17. The perception of peripersonal space in right and left brain damage hemiplegic patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela eBartolo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Peripersonal space, as opposed to extrapersonal space, is the space that contains reachable objects and in which multisensory and sensorimotor integration is enhanced. Thus, the perception of peripersonal space requires combining information on the spatial properties of the environment with information on the current capacity to act. In support of this, recent studies have provided converging evidences that perceiving objects in peripersonal space activates a neural network overlapping with that subtending voluntary motor action and motor imagery. Other studies have also underlined the dominant role of the right hemisphere in motor planning and of the left hemisphere in on-line motor guiding, respectively. In the present study, we investigated the effect of a right or left hemiplegia in the perception of peripersonal space. 16 hemiplegic patients with brain damage to the left (LH or right (RH hemisphere and 8 matched healthy controls (HC performed a colour discrimination, a motor imagery and a reachability judgment task. Analyses of response times and accuracy revealed no variation among the three groups in the colour discrimination task, suggesting the absence of any specific perceptual or decisional deficits in the patient groups. In contrast, the patient groups revealed longer response times in the motor imagery task when performed in reference to the hemiplegic arm (RH and LH or to the healthy arm (RH. Moreover, RH group showed longer response times in the reachability judgement task, but only for stimuli located at the boundary of peripersonal space, which was furthermore significantly reduced in size. Considered together, these results confirm the crucial role of the motor system in motor imagery task and the perception of peripersonal space. They also revealed that right hemisphere damage has a more detrimental effect on reachability estimates, suggesting that motor planning processes contribute specifically to the perception of

  18. [Mirror movement due to the medial frontal lobe lesion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, N; Kawamura, M; Hirayama, K

    1995-01-01

    We reported a case with acquired mirror movement in upper limbs due to the lesion of right medial frontal lobe including supplementary motor area, and also discussed a possible mechanism underlying it. A 59-year-old right-handed woman developed left hemiparesis caused by cerebral hemorrhage in the right frontoparietal lobe, on April 5, 1981. She had right hemiparesis and right hemianopsia due to cerebral hemorrhage in the left parieto-occipital lobe, 13 days later. As the patient was recovering from paresis, mirror movement appeared on upper limbs. The features of the mirror movement of this case are summarized as follows: (1) it appeared when using both proximal and distal region of upper limbs; (2) it appeared on left upper limb when the patient intended to move right upper limb or on right upper limb when intended to move left upper limb, while it appeared predominantly in the former; and (3) it was more remarkably found in habitual movement using gesture and pantomimic movement for the use of objects, and it was found in lower degree when actual object was used or when the patient tried to imitate the gesture of the examiner. The lesions in MRI were found in medial region of right frontal lobe (supplementary motor area, medial region of motor area, and cingulate gyrus), right medial parietal lobe, posterior region of right occipital lobe, and medial regions of left parietal and occipital lobes. There was no apparent abnormality in corpus callosum.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  19. Neuroanatomical correlates of brain-computer interface performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasahara, Kazumi; DaSalla, Charles Sayo; Honda, Manabu; Hanakawa, Takashi

    2015-04-15

    Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a potential means to replace or restore lost motor function. However, BCI performance varies considerably between users, the reasons for which are poorly understood. Here we investigated the relationship between sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)-based BCI performance and brain structure. Participants were instructed to control a computer cursor using right- and left-hand motor imagery, which primarily modulated their left- and right-hemispheric SMR powers, respectively. Although most participants were able to control the BCI with success rates significantly above chance level even at the first encounter, they also showed substantial inter-individual variability in BCI success rate. Participants also underwent T1-weighted three-dimensional structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI data were subjected to voxel-based morphometry using BCI success rate as an independent variable. We found that BCI performance correlated with gray matter volume of the supplementary motor area, supplementary somatosensory area, and dorsal premotor cortex. We suggest that SMR-based BCI performance is associated with development of non-primary somatosensory and motor areas. Advancing our understanding of BCI performance in relation to its neuroanatomical correlates may lead to better customization of BCIs based on individual brain structure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Bilateral primary motor cortex circuitry is modulated due to theta burst stimulation to left dorsal premotor cortex and bimanual training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neva, Jason L; Vesia, Michael; Singh, Amaya M; Staines, W Richard

    2015-08-27

    Motor preparatory and execution activity is enhanced after a single session of bimanual visuomotor training (BMT). Recently, we have shown that increased primary motor cortex (M1) excitability occurs when BMT involves simultaneous activation of homologous muscles and these effects are enhanced when BMT is preceded by intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) to the left dorsal premotor cortex (lPMd). The neural mechanisms underlying these modulations are unclear, but may include interhemispheric interactions between homologous M1s and connectivity with premotor regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible intracortical and interhemispheric modulations of the extensor carpi radials (ECR) representation in M1 bilaterally due to: (1) BMT, (2) iTBS to lPMd, and (3) iTBS to lPMd followed by BMT. This study tests three related hypotheses: (1) BMT will enhance excitability within and between M1 bilaterally, (2) iTBS to lPMd will primarily enhance left M1 (lM1) excitability, and (3) the combination of these interventions will cause a greater enhancement of bilateral M1 excitability. We used single and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to quantify M1 circuitry bilaterally. The results demonstrate the neural mechanisms underlying the early markers of rapid functional plasticity associated with BMT and iTBS to lPMd primarily relate to modulations of long-interval inhibitory (i.e. GABAB-mediated) circuitry within and between M1s. This work provides novel insight into the underlying neural mechanisms involved in M1 excitability changes associated with BMT and iTBS to lPMd. Critically, this work may inform rehabilitation training and stimulation techniques that modulate cortical plasticity after brain injury. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Cerebral hemorrhage without manifest motor paralysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taketani, Torao; Dohi, Ichiro; Miyazaki, Tadahiko; Handa, Akihisa

    1982-01-01

    Before the introduction of computerized tomography (CT) there were some cases of intracerebral bleeding who were wrongly diagnosed as hypertensive encephalopathy or senile psychosis. We here report 5 cases who did not show any sign of motor paralysis. The clinical aspects of these cases were nausea and vomiting with dizziness (case 1), nausea and vomiting with slight headache (case 2), agnosia of left side with several kinds of disorientation (case 3), nausea and vomiting (case 4), and visual disturbance of right, lower quadrant (case 5). All of these cases showed no motor paralysis or abnormal reflex activities. By examination with CT each of them exhibited a high density area in the subcortical area of the right parietal lobe, the subcortical area of the right occipital lobe, the right temporal and parietal lobe, rather small portion of the left putamen and external capsule, and the subcortical area of left occipital lobe, respectively. Patients of cerebral hemorrhage without motor or sensory disturbances might often be taken for some psychic abnormality. We here have emphasized the importance of CT in such a group of patients. But for this technique, most of them would not be given adequate treatment and might be exposed to lifethreatening situations. (author)

  2. Functional significance of ipsilesional motor deficits after unilateral stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chestnut, Caitilin; Haaland, Kathleen Y

    2008-01-01

    To determine whether ipsilesional motor skills, which have been related to independent functioning, are present chronically after unilateral stroke and are more common in people with apraxia than in those without apraxia. Observational cohort comparing the performance of an able-bodied control group, stroke patients with left- or right-hemisphere damage matched for lesion volume, and left-hemisphere stroke patients with and without ideomotor limb apraxia. Primary care Veterans Affairs and private medical center. Volunteer right-handed sample; stroke patients with left- or right-hemisphere damage about 4 years poststroke; a control group of demographically matched, able-bodied adults. Not applicable. Total time to perform the (1) Williams doors test and the (2) timed manual performance test (TMPT), which includes parts of the Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test. Ipsilesional motor deficits were present after left- or right-hemisphere stroke when using both measures, but deficits were consistently more common in patients with limb apraxia only for the TMPT. These findings add to a growing literature that suggests that ipsilesional motor deficits may have a functional impact in unilateral stroke patients, especially in patients with ideomotor limb apraxia.

  3. Scaling of motor cortical excitability during unimanual force generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Monica A; Cohen, Leonardo G

    2009-10-01

    During performance of a unimanual force generation task primary motor cortices (M1s) experience clear functional changes. Here, we evaluated the way in which M1s interact during parametric increases in right wrist flexion force in healthy volunteers. We measured the amplitude and the slope of motor evoked potentials (MEP) recruitment curves to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the left and right flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscles at rest and during 10%, 30% and 70% of maximal wrist flexion force. At rest, no differences were observed in the amplitude and slope of MEP recruitment curves in the left and right FCR muscles. With increasing right wrist flexion force, MEP amplitudes increased in both FCR muscles, with larger amplitudes in the right FCR. We found a significant correlation between the left and right MEP amplitudes across conditions. The slope of right and left FCR MEP recruitment curve was significantly steeper at 70% of force compared to rest and 10% of force. A significant correlation between the slope of left and right FCR MEP amplitudes was found at 70% of force only. Our results indicate a differential scaling of excitability in the corticospinal system controlling right and left FCR muscles at increasing levels of unimanual force generation. Specifically, these data highlights that at strong levels of unimanual force the increases in motor cortical excitability with increasing TMS stimulus intensities follow a similar pattern in both M1s, while at low levels of force they do not.

  4. The changes of regional cerebral blood flow: successful pain relief of intractable CRPS type II patients by motor cortex stimulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, J. A.; Son, H. S.; Kim, S. H.; Jung, S. G [The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-01

    Authors report the effectiveness of MCS in extraordinarily extended pain due to intractable CRPS type II and rCBF study result for mechanism of pain control by MCS. A 43-year-old male presented severe spontaneous burning pain in his left hand and forearm and allodynia over the left arm and left hemibody. Authors planned MCS as a neuromodulation therapy for this intractable peripheral neuropathic pain patient because further neurodestructive procedure did not work anymore and have a potential risk of further aggrevation of neuopathic pain. We performed baseline and stimulation brain perfusion SPECT using 20 mCi of Tc-99m ECD. The baseline CBD studies were done with stimulator 'off' state and stimulation studies were done after stimulator 'on' with satisfactory pain relief. For the stimulation study, the radioisotope was injected immediately after pain-relief and the images were taken about 50 minutes after injection of radioisotope. In resting rCBF in the patient was compared with normal control datas, we found significant increase in rCBF in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right superior temporal gyrus, left temporooccipital area. When rCBF datas obtained after alleviation of pain with stimulator 'on' . there were significant increase in rCBF in bilateral prefrontal cortex and left temporoocipital area. After subtraction of ECD SPECT, we found significant increase in rCBF in the right premotor and supplementary motor cortex left sensorimotor cortex, right cingulated cortex, right posterior insular cortex, right anterior limb of internal capsule. left orbitofrontal cortex and right pyramidal tract in cerebral peduncle. Authors report exellent pain control by MCS in a case of severe CRPS type II with hemibody involvement and regional cerebral blood flow changes according to successful pain control.

  5. The changes of regional cerebral blood flow: successful pain relief of intractable CRPS type II patients by motor cortex stimulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, J. A.; Son, H. S.; Kim, S. H.; Jung, S. G

    2004-01-01

    Authors report the effectiveness of MCS in extraordinarily extended pain due to intractable CRPS type II and rCBF study result for mechanism of pain control by MCS. A 43-year-old male presented severe spontaneous burning pain in his left hand and forearm and allodynia over the left arm and left hemibody. Authors planned MCS as a neuromodulation therapy for this intractable peripheral neuropathic pain patient because further neurodestructive procedure did not work anymore and have a potential risk of further aggrevation of neuopathic pain. We performed baseline and stimulation brain perfusion SPECT using 20 mCi of Tc-99m ECD. The baseline CBD studies were done with stimulator 'off' state and stimulation studies were done after stimulator 'on' with satisfactory pain relief. For the stimulation study, the radioisotope was injected immediately after pain-relief and the images were taken about 50 minutes after injection of radioisotope. In resting rCBF in the patient was compared with normal control datas, we found significant increase in rCBF in the bilateral prefrontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, right superior temporal gyrus, left temporooccipital area. When rCBF datas obtained after alleviation of pain with stimulator 'on' . there were significant increase in rCBF in bilateral prefrontal cortex and left temporoocipital area. After subtraction of ECD SPECT, we found significant increase in rCBF in the right premotor and supplementary motor cortex left sensorimotor cortex, right cingulated cortex, right posterior insular cortex, right anterior limb of internal capsule. left orbitofrontal cortex and right pyramidal tract in cerebral peduncle. Authors report exellent pain control by MCS in a case of severe CRPS type II with hemibody involvement and regional cerebral blood flow changes according to successful pain control

  6. High-order motor cortex in rats receives somatosensory inputs from the primary motor cortex via cortico-cortical pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunori, Nobuo; Takashima, Ichiro

    2016-12-01

    The motor cortex of rats contains two forelimb motor areas; the caudal forelimb area (CFA) and the rostral forelimb area (RFA). Although the RFA is thought to correspond to the premotor and/or supplementary motor cortices of primates, which are higher-order motor areas that receive somatosensory inputs, it is unknown whether the RFA of rats receives somatosensory inputs in the same manner. To investigate this issue, voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging was used to assess the motor cortex in rats following a brief electrical stimulation of the forelimb. This procedure was followed by intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) mapping to identify the motor representations in the imaged cortex. The combined use of VSD imaging and ICMS revealed that both the CFA and RFA received excitatory synaptic inputs after forelimb stimulation. Further evaluation of the sensory input pathway to the RFA revealed that the forelimb-evoked RFA response was abolished either by the pharmacological inactivation of the CFA or a cortical transection between the CFA and RFA. These results suggest that forelimb-related sensory inputs would be transmitted to the RFA from the CFA via the cortico-cortical pathway. Thus, the present findings imply that sensory information processed in the RFA may be used for the generation of coordinated forelimb movements, which would be similar to the function of the higher-order motor cortex in primates. © 2016 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Damage to the medial motor system in stroke patients with motor neglect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raffaella eMigliaccio

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives. Motor neglect (MN is a clinically important condition whereby patients with unilateral brain lesions fail to move their contralateral limbs, despite normal muscle strength, reflexes, and sensation. MN has been associated with various lesion sites, including the parietal and frontal cortex, the internal capsule, the lenticulostriate nuclei, and the thalamus. In the present study, we explored the hypothesis that MN depends on a dysfunction of the medial motor system by performing a detailed anatomical analysis in four patients with MN.Methods. Ten patients participated in the study: four with MN, four with left visual neglect but without MN, and three patients with left hemiplegia without MN. We used specific scales for clinical and neuropsychological assessment. We drew the lesion borders directly onto the original brain images of each patient, and plotted the lesions on anatomical atlases for grey and white matter. Results. Lesion locations were highly heterogeneous in our MN patients, and included frontal and parietal sites, basal ganglia and white matter. The only consistently damaged structure across all MN patients was the cingulum bundle, a major pathway of the medial motor system important for motor initiative, and a key connection with limbic structures crucial for motivational aspects of actions. Three MN patients with additional damage to lateral fronto-parietal networks had also signs of contralesional visual neglect. The cingulum bundle was intact in all the control patients with visual neglect or hemiplegia.Conclusions. Cingulum damage may induce MN through unilateral dysfunction of the medial motor system. Additional lateral fronto-parietal dysfunction can result in the association with visual neglect.

  8. Investigation of left and right lateral fluid percussion injury in C57BL6/J mice: In vivo functional consequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schurman, Lesley D; Smith, Terry L; Morales, Anthony J; Lee, Nancy N; Reeves, Thomas M; Phillips, Linda L; Lichtman, Aron H

    2017-07-13

    Although rodent models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) reliably produce cognitive and motor disturbances, behavioral characterization resulting from left and right hemisphere injuries remains unexplored. Here we examined the functional consequences of targeting the left versus right parietal cortex in lateral fluid percussion injury, on Morris water maze (MWM) spatial memory tasks (fixed platform and reversal) and neurological motor deficits (neurological severity score and rotarod). In the MWM fixed platform task, right lateral injury produced a small delay in acquisition rate compared to left. However, injury to either hemisphere resulted in probe trial deficits. In the MWM reversal task, left-right performance deficits were not evident, though left lateral injury produced mild acquisition and probe trial deficits compared to sham controls. Additionally, left and right injury produced similar neurological motor task deficits, impaired righting times, and lesion volumes. Injury to either hemisphere also produced robust ipsilateral, and modest contralateral, morphological changes in reactive microglia and astrocytes. In conclusion, left and right lateral TBI impaired MWM performance, with mild fixed platform acquisition rate differences, despite similar motor deficits, histological damage, and glial cell reactivity. Thus, while both left and right lateral TBI produce cognitive deficits, laterality in mouse MWM learning and memory merits consideration in the investigation of TBI-induced cognitive consequences. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Resting-state connectivity of pre-motor cortex reflects disability in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dogonowski, A-M; Siebner, H R; Soelberg Sørensen, P; Paulson, O B; Dyrby, T B; Blinkenberg, M; Madsen, K H

    2013-11-01

    To characterize the relationship between motor resting-state connectivity of the dorsal pre-motor cortex (PMd) and clinical disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). A total of 27 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RR-MS) and 15 patients with secondary progressive MS (SP-MS) underwent functional resting-state magnetic resonance imaging. Clinical disability was assessed using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Independent component analysis was used to characterize motor resting-state connectivity. Multiple regression analysis was performed in SPM8 between the individual expression of motor resting-state connectivity in PMd and EDSS scores including age as covariate. Separate post hoc analyses were performed for patients with RR-MS and SP-MS. The EDSS scores ranged from 0 to 7 with a median score of 4.3. Motor resting-state connectivity of left PMd showed a positive linear relation with clinical disability in patients with MS. This effect was stronger when considering the group of patients with RR-MS alone, whereas patients with SP-MS showed no increase in coupling strength between left PMd and the motor resting-state network with increasing clinical disability. No significant relation between motor resting-state connectivity of the right PMd and clinical disability was detected in MS. The increase in functional coupling between left PMd and the motor resting-state network with increasing clinical disability can be interpreted as adaptive reorganization of the motor system to maintain motor function, which appears to be limited to the relapsing-remitting stage of the disease. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  10. Unilateral implicit motor learning deficit in developmental dyslexia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yang; Hong-Yan, Bi

    2011-02-01

    It has been suggested that developmental dyslexia involves various literacy, sensory, motor skill, and processing speed deficits. Some recent studies have shown that individuals with developmental dyslexia exhibit implicit motor learning deficits, which may be related to cerebellar functioning. However, previous studies on implicit motor learning in developmental dyslexics have produced conflicting results. Findings from cerebellar lesion patients have shown that patients' implicit motor learning performance varied when different hands were used to complete tasks. This suggests that dyslexia may have different effects on implicit motor learning between the two hands if cerebellar dysfunction is involved. To specify this question, we used a one-handed version of a serial reaction time task to compare the performance of 27 Chinese children with developmental dyslexics with another 27 age-matched children without reading difficulties. All the subjects were students from two primary schools, Grades 4 to 6. The results showed that children with developmental dyslexic responded more slowly than nondyslexic children, and exhibited no implicit motor learning in the condition of left-hand response. In contrast, there was no significant difference in reaction time between two groups of children when they used the right hand to respond. This finding indicates that children with developmental dyslexia exhibited normal motor skill and implicit motor learning ability provided the right hand was used. Taken together, these results suggested that Chinese children with developmental dyslexia exhibit unilateral deficits in motor skill and implicit motor learning in the left hand. Our findings lend partial support to the cerebellar deficit theory of developmental dyslexia.

  11. Specialization of the left supramarginal gyrus for hand-independent praxis representation is not related to hand dominance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Króliczak, Gregory; Piper, Brian J.; Frey, Scott H.

    2016-01-01

    Data from focal brain injury and functional neuroimaging studies implicate a distributed network of parieto-fronto-temporal areas in the human left cerebral hemisphere as playing distinct roles in the representation of meaningful actions (praxis). Because these data come primarily from right-handed individuals, the relationship between left cerebral specialization for praxis representation and hand dominance remains unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate the hypothesis that strongly left-handed (right hemisphere motor dominant) adults also exhibit this left cerebral specialization. Participants planned familiar actions for subsequent performance with the left or right hand in response to transitive (e.g., “pounding”) or intransitive (e.g. “waving”) action words. In linguistic control trials, cues denoted non-physical actions (e.g., “believing”). Action planning was associated with significant, exclusively left-lateralized and extensive increases of activity in the supramarginal gyrus (SMg), and more focal modulations in the left caudal middle temporal gyrus (cMTg). This activity was hand- and gesture-independent, i.e., unaffected by the hand involved in subsequent action performance, and the type of gesture (i.e., transitive or intransitive). Compared directly with right-handers, left-handers exhibited greater involvement of the right angular gyrus (ANg) and dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), which is indicative of a less asymmetric functional architecture for praxis representation. We therefore conclude that the organization of mechanisms involved in planning familiar actions is influenced by one’s motor dominance. However, independent of hand dominance, the left SMg and cMTg are specialized for ideomotor transformations—the integration of conceptual knowledge and motor representations into meaningful actions. These findings support the view that higher-order praxis representation and lower-level motor dominance rely

  12. Inducing homeostatic-like plasticity in human motor cortex through converging corticocortical inputs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pötter-Nerger, Monika; Fischer, Sarah; Mastroeni, Claudia

    2009-01-01

    Transcranial stimulation techniques have revealed homeostatic-like metaplasticity in the hand area of the human primary motor cortex (M1(HAND)) that controls stimulation-induced changes in corticospinal excitability. Here we combined two interventional protocols that induce long-term depression......TMS) of the left dorsal premotor cortex (PMD) was first applied to produce an LTP-like increase (5 Hz rTMS) or LTD-like decrease (1 Hz rTMS) in corticospinal excitability in left M1(HAND) via premotor-to-motor inputs. Following PMD rTMS, paired-associative stimulation (PAS) was applied to the right median nerve...... and left M1(HAND) to induce spike-time-dependent plasticity in sensory-to-motor inputs to left M1(HAND). We adjusted the interstimulus interval to the N20 latency of the median nerve somatosensory-evoked cortical potential to produce an LTP-like increase (PAS(N20+2ms)) or an LTD-like decrease (PAS(N20-5ms...

  13. Entrywise Squared Transforms for GAMP Supplementary Material

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2016-01-01

    Supplementary material for a study on Entrywise Squared Transforms for Generalized Approximate Message Passing (GAMP). See the README file for the details.......Supplementary material for a study on Entrywise Squared Transforms for Generalized Approximate Message Passing (GAMP). See the README file for the details....

  14. Motor sequence learning-induced neural efficiency in functional brain connectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karim, Helmet T; Huppert, Theodore J; Erickson, Kirk I; Wollam, Mariegold E; Sparto, Patrick J; Sejdić, Ervin; VanSwearingen, Jessie M

    2017-02-15

    Previous studies have shown the functional neural circuitry differences before and after an explicitly learned motor sequence task, but have not assessed these changes during the process of motor skill learning. Functional magnetic resonance imaging activity was measured while participants (n=13) were asked to tap their fingers to visually presented sequences in blocks that were either the same sequence repeated (learning block) or random sequences (control block). Motor learning was associated with a decrease in brain activity during learning compared to control. Lower brain activation was noted in the posterior parietal association area and bilateral thalamus during the later periods of learning (not during the control). Compared to the control condition, we found the task-related motor learning was associated with decreased connectivity between the putamen and left inferior frontal gyrus and left middle cingulate brain regions. Motor learning was associated with changes in network activity, spatial extent, and connectivity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Hypoactivation of the primary sensorimotor cortex in de novo Parkinson's disease. A motor fMRI study under controlled conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tessa, Carlo; Vignali, Claudio [Versilia Hospital, AUSL Versilia, Division of Radiology, Camaiore (Italy); Lucetti, Claudio [Versilia Hospital, AUSL Versilia, Division of Neurology, Camaiore (Italy); Diciotti, Stefano; Paoli, Lorenzo; Ginestroni, Andrea; Mascalchi, Mario [University of Florence, Radiodiagnostic Section, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, Florence (Italy); Cecchi, Paolo; Baldacci, Filippo [University of Pisa, Department of Neuroscience, Pisa (Italy); Giannelli, Marco [Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Unit of Medical Physics, Pisa (Italy); Bonuccelli, Ubaldo [Versilia Hospital, AUSL Versilia, Division of Neurology, Camaiore (Italy); University of Pisa, Department of Neuroscience, Pisa (Italy)

    2012-03-15

    Nuclear medicine studies in Parkinson's disease (PD) indicate that nigrostriatal damage causes a widespread cortical hypoactivity assumed to be due to reduced excitatory thalamic outflow. However, so far, functional MRI (fMRI) studies have provided controversial data about this ''functional deafferentation'' phenomenon. To further clarify this issue, we assessed, with fMRI, de novo drug-naive PD patients using a relatively complex motor task under strictly controlled conditions. Nineteen de novo PD patients with right-predominant or bilateral symptoms and 13 age-matched healthy volunteers performed continuous writing of ''8'' figures with the right-dominant hand using a MR-compatible device that enables identification of incorrectly performed tasks and measures the size and the frequency of the ''8''s. The data were analyzed with FSL software and correlated with the clinical severity rated according to the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) staging system. Fifteen (89%) of 19 PD patients and 12 (92%) of 13 controls correctly executed the task. PD patients showed significant hypoactivation of the left primary sensorimotor cortex (SM1) and cerebellum and no hyperactive areas as compared to controls. However, activation in SM1 and supplementary motor area bilaterally, in left supramarginal, parietal inferior, parietal superior and frontal superior gyri as well as in right parietal superior and angular gyri paralleled increasing disease severity as assessed with the HY stage. In line with the ''deafferentation hypothesis'', fMRI demonstrates hypoactivation of the SM1 in the early clinical stage of PD. (orig.)

  16. Time of Day Does Not Modulate Improvements in Motor Performance following a Repetitive Ballistic Motor Training Task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sale, Martin V.; Ridding, Michael C.; Nordstrom, Michael A.

    2013-01-01

    Repetitive performance of a task can result in learning. The neural mechanisms underpinning such use-dependent plasticity are influenced by several neuromodulators. Variations in neuromodulator levels may contribute to the variability in performance outcomes following training. Circulating levels of the neuromodulator cortisol change throughout the day. High cortisol levels inhibit neuroplasticity induced with a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigm that has similarities to use-dependent plasticity. The present study investigated whether performance changes following a motor training task are modulated by time of day and/or changes in endogenous cortisol levels. Motor training involving 30 minutes of repeated maximum left thumb abduction was undertaken by twenty-two participants twice, once in the morning (8 AM) and once in the evening (8 PM) on separate occasions. Saliva was assayed for cortisol concentration. Motor performance, quantified by measuring maximum left thumb abduction acceleration, significantly increased by 28% following training. Neuroplastic changes in corticomotor excitability of abductor pollicis brevis, quantified with TMS, increased significantly by 23% following training. Training-related motor performance improvements and neuroplasticity were unaffected by time of day and salivary cortisol concentration. Although similar neural elements and processes contribute to motor learning, training-induced neuroplasticity, and TMS-induced neuroplasticity, our findings suggest that the influence of time of day and cortisol differs for these three interventions. PMID:23577271

  17. Time of Day Does Not Modulate Improvements in Motor Performance following a Repetitive Ballistic Motor Training Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin V. Sale

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Repetitive performance of a task can result in learning. The neural mechanisms underpinning such use-dependent plasticity are influenced by several neuromodulators. Variations in neuromodulator levels may contribute to the variability in performance outcomes following training. Circulating levels of the neuromodulator cortisol change throughout the day. High cortisol levels inhibit neuroplasticity induced with a transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS paradigm that has similarities to use-dependent plasticity. The present study investigated whether performance changes following a motor training task are modulated by time of day and/or changes in endogenous cortisol levels. Motor training involving 30 minutes of repeated maximum left thumb abduction was undertaken by twenty-two participants twice, once in the morning (8 AM and once in the evening (8 PM on separate occasions. Saliva was assayed for cortisol concentration. Motor performance, quantified by measuring maximum left thumb abduction acceleration, significantly increased by 28% following training. Neuroplastic changes in corticomotor excitability of abductor pollicis brevis, quantified with TMS, increased significantly by 23% following training. Training-related motor performance improvements and neuroplasticity were unaffected by time of day and salivary cortisol concentration. Although similar neural elements and processes contribute to motor learning, training-induced neuroplasticity, and TMS-induced neuroplasticity, our findings suggest that the influence of time of day and cortisol differs for these three interventions.

  18. Novel cloning machine with supplementary information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qiu Daowen

    2006-01-01

    Probabilistic cloning was first proposed by Duan and Guo. Then Pati established a novel cloning machine (NCM) for copying superposition of multiple clones simultaneously. In this paper, we deal with the novel cloning machine with supplementary information (NCMSI). For the case of cloning two states, we demonstrate that the optimal efficiency of the NCMSI in which the original party and the supplementary party can perform quantum communication equals that achieved by a two-step cloning protocol wherein classical communication is only allowed between the original and the supplementary parties. From this equivalence, it follows that NCMSI may increase the success probabilities for copying. Also, an upper bound on the unambiguous discrimination of two nonorthogonal pure product states is derived. Our investigation generalizes and completes the results in the literature

  19. Contribution of the supplementary motor area and the cerebellum to the anticipatory postural adjustments and execution phases of human gait initiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, Aliénor; Van Hamme, Angèle; Drevelle, Xavier; Golmard, Jean-Louis; Meunier, Sabine; Welter, Marie-Laure

    2017-09-01

    Several brain structures including the brainstem, the cerebellum and the frontal cortico-basal ganglia network, with the primary and premotor areas have been shown to participate in the functional organization of gait initiation and postural control in humans, but their respective roles remain poorly understood. The aim of this study was to better understand the role of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and posterior cerebellum in the gait initiation process. Gait initiation parameters were recorded in 22 controls both before and after continuous theta burst transcranial stimulation (cTBS) of the SMA and cerebellum, and were compared to sham stimulation, using a randomized double-blind design study. The two phases of gait initiation process were analyzed: anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) and execution, with recordings of soleus and tibialis anterior muscles. Functional inhibition of the SMA led to a shortened APA phase duration with advanced and increased muscle activity; during execution, it also advanced muscle co-activation and decreased the duration of stance soleus activity. Cerebellar functional inhibition did not influence the APA phase duration and amplitude but increased muscle co-activation, it decreased execution duration and showed a trend to increase velocity, with increased swing soleus muscle duration and activity. The results suggest that the SMA contributes to both the timing and amplitude of the APAs with no influence on step execution and the posterior cerebellum in the coupling between the APAs and execution phases and leg muscle activity pattern during gait initiation. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Network connectivity and individual responses to brain stimulation in the human motor system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cárdenas-Morales, Lizbeth; Volz, Lukas J; Michely, Jochen; Rehme, Anne K; Pool, Eva-Maria; Nettekoven, Charlotte; Eickhoff, Simon B; Fink, Gereon R; Grefkes, Christian

    2014-07-01

    The mechanisms driving cortical plasticity in response to brain stimulation are still incompletely understood. We here explored whether neural activity and connectivity in the motor system relate to the magnitude of cortical plasticity induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Twelve right-handed volunteers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during rest and while performing a simple hand motor task. Resting-state functional connectivity, task-induced activation, and task-related effective connectivity were assessed for a network of key motor areas. We then investigated the effects of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) on motor-evoked potentials (MEP) for up to 25 min after stimulation over left primary motor cortex (M1) or parieto-occipital vertex (for control). ITBS-induced increases in MEP amplitudes correlated negatively with movement-related fMRI activity in left M1. Control iTBS had no effect on M1 excitability. Subjects with better response to M1-iTBS featured stronger preinterventional effective connectivity between left premotor areas and left M1. In contrast, resting-state connectivity did not predict iTBS aftereffects. Plasticity-related changes in M1 following brain stimulation seem to depend not only on local factors but also on interconnected brain regions. Predominantly activity-dependent properties of the cortical motor system are indicative of excitability changes following induction of cortical plasticity with rTMS. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. 19 CFR 200.735-117 - Supplementary statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... under this section, each employee shall at all times avoid acquiring a financial interest that could... CONDUCT Provisions Governing Statements of Employment and Financial Interests § 200.735-117 Supplementary... and financial interests shall be reported in a supplementary statement as of June 30 each year. If no...

  2. 12 CFR 528.1a - Supplementary guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 12 Banks and Banking 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Supplementary guidelines. 528.1a Section 528.1a Banks and Banking OFFICE OF THRIFT SUPERVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY NONDISCRIMINATION REQUIREMENTS § 528.1a Supplementary guidelines. The Office's policy statement found at 12 CFR 528.9 supplements...

  3. Anosognosia for hemiparesis after left-sided stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baier, Bernhard; Vucurevic, Goran; Müller-Forell, Wibke; Glassl, Oliver; Geber, Christian; Dieterich, Marianne; Karnath, Hans-Otto

    2014-12-01

    In patients with left-sided lesions, anosognosia for hemiparesis (AHP) seems to be a rare phenomenon. It has been discussed whether this rareness might be due to an inevitable bias due to language dysfunction and whether the left hemisphere's role for our self-awareness of motor actions thus is underestimated. By applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we examined whether patients with AHP following a left hemisphere stroke show a regular, left-sided or a reversed, right-sided lateralization of language functions. Only the former observation would argue for an original role of the left hemisphere in self-awareness about limb function. In a consecutive series of 44 acute left-sided stroke patients, only one patient (=2%) was identified showing AHP. In this case, we could verify by using fMRI that lateralization of AHP and spatial neglect on the one hand and of language functions on the other hand were reversed. The present single case observation thus argues against an original role of the left hemisphere in self-awareness about limb function. We discuss the data in the context of previous observations in the literature. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Motor-cortical interaction in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Franzkowiak

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS increased activation of the primary motor cortex (M1 before and during movement execution followed by increased inhibition after movement termination was reported. The present study aimed at investigating, whether this activation pattern is due to altered functional interaction between motor cortical areas. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: 10 GTS-patients and 10 control subjects performed a self-paced finger movement task while neuromagnetic brain activity was recorded using Magnetoencephalography (MEG. Cerebro-cerebral coherence as a measure of functional interaction was calculated. During movement preparation and execution coherence between contralateral M1 and supplementary motor area (SMA was significantly increased at beta-frequency in GTS-patients. After movement termination no significant differences between groups were evident. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present data suggest that increased M1 activation in GTS-patients might be due to increased functional interaction between SMA and M1 most likely reflecting a pathophysiological marker of GTS. The data extend previous findings of motor-cortical alterations in GTS by showing that local activation changes are associated with alterations of functional networks between premotor and primary motor areas. Interestingly enough, alterations were evident during preparation and execution of voluntary movements, which implies a general theme of increased motor-cortical interaction in GTS.

  5. Inferior frontal gyrus links visual and motor cortices during a visuomotor precision grip force task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadelis, Christos; Arfeller, Carola; Erla, Silvia; Nollo, Giandomenico; Cattaneo, Luigi; Braun, Christoph

    2016-11-01

    Coordination between vision and action relies on a fronto-parietal network that receives visual and proprioceptive sensory input in order to compute motor control signals. Here, we investigated with magnetoencephalography (MEG) which cortical areas are functionally coupled on the basis of synchronization during visuomotor integration. MEG signals were recorded from twelve healthy adults while performing a unimanual visuomotor (VM) task and control conditions. The VM task required the integration of pinch motor commands with visual sensory feedback. By using a beamformer, we localized the neural activity in the frequency range of 1-30Hz during the VM compared to rest. Virtual sensors were estimated at the active locations. A multivariate autoregressive model was used to estimate the power and coherence of estimated activity at the virtual sensors. Event-related desynchronisation (ERD) during VM was observed in early visual areas, the rostral part of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the right IFG, the superior parietal lobules, and the left hand motor cortex (M1). Functional coupling in the alpha frequency band bridged the regional activities observed in motor and visual cortices (the start and the end points in the visuomotor loop) through the left or right IFG. Coherence between the left IFG and left M1 correlated inversely with the task performance. Our results indicate that an occipital-prefrontal-motor functional network facilitates the modulation of instructed motor responses to visual cues. This network may supplement the mechanism for guiding actions that is fully incorporated into the dorsal visual stream. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Private Supplementary Tutoring in the Czech Republic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Štastný, Vít

    2016-01-01

    The study contributes to the literature on private supplementary tutoring by shedding light on this phenomenon in the Czech Republic. The aim of the paper is to identify the reasons for seeking out private supplementary tutoring and to assess the factors underlying its demand. In the representative sample of 1,265 senior upper-secondary school…

  7. Whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral arteriovenous malformations involving the motor pathways

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ozdoba, C.; Remonda, L.; Loevblad, K.O.; Schroth, G.; Nirkko, A.C.

    2002-01-01

    To investigate cortical, basal ganglia and cerebellar activation in patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) involving the motor pathways, we studied ten patients (six male, four female, mean age 30.3 years, range 7.4-44.1) by whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a 1.5-T scanner with the EPI-BOLD-technique. In seven cases multiple fMRI studies were available, acquired in the course of the multi-session endovascular interventional treatment. Self-paced right- and left-handed finger-tapping tasks were used to invoke activation. In six patients a super-selective amytal test (Wada test) was performed during diagnostic pre-interventional angiography studies. Abnormal cortical activation patterns, with activation of the primary sensorimotor area, the supplementary motor area and/or the cerebellum shifted to unphysiological locations, were found in four patients. In all cases, localization of the AVM could account for the changes from the normal. After endovascular procedures, fMRI demonstrated shifts in the activation pattern in three patients. In the six patients that had undergone fMRI studies and the Wada test, both methods yielded comparable results. The fact that AVMs are structural anomalies for which the brain can partly compensate ('plasticity') was underlined by these results. fMRI is a valuable tool in the pre-therapeutic evaluation and post-interventional follow-up of patients with cerebral AVMs in whom an operation or an endovascular procedure is planned. (orig.)

  8. Functional MR imaging of the motor cortex in healthy volunteers and patients with brain tumours: qualitative and quantitative results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fellner, C. [Friedrich-Alexander-Univ., Erlangen-Nuernberg (Germany). Inst. of Medical Physics]|[Friedrich-Alexander-Univ., Erlangen-Nuernberg (Germany). Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology; Schlaier, J.; Schwerdtner, J.; Brawanski, A. [Regensburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Radiology; Fellner, F. [Regensburg Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Neurosurgery]|[Oberoesterreichische Landesnervenklinik, Linz (Austria). Dept. of Neuroradiology; Held, P. [Friedrich-Alexander-Univ., Erlangen-Nuernberg (Germany). Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology; Blank, M.; Kalender, W.A. [Friedrich-Alexander-Univ., Erlangen-Nuernberg (Germany). Inst. of Medical Physics

    1999-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the motor cortex in healthy volunteers and patients with brain tumours. Functional MR imaging was performed in 14 healthy volunteers and 14 patients with tumours in or near the primary motor cortex with groups being matched for age, sex, and handedness. Functional images were acquired during motion of the right and left hand. Time courses of signal intensity within the contralateral, ipsilateral, and supplementary motor cortex as well as z-maps were calculated, their quality being assessed visually. Mean signal increase between activation and rest were evaluated within the contralateral, ipsilateral, and supplementary motor cortex, the activated area in those regions of interest was measured using z-maps. The quality of functional MR experiments was generally lower in patients than in volunteers. The quantitative results showed a trend towards increased ipsilateral activation in volunteers during left hand compared to right hand motion and in patients during motion of the affected compared to the non-affected hand. Considering quantitative and qualitative results, significantly increased ipsilateral activation was found in patients compared to healthy volunteers. In conclusion, functional MR imaging quality was significantly reduced in patient studies compared to healthy volunteers, even if influences of age, sex, and handedness were excluded. Increased ipsilateral activation was found in patients with brain tumours which can be interpreted by an improved connectivity between both hemispheres. (orig.) [Deutsch] Das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war ein Vergleich der funktionellen MR-Bildgebung (fMRI: Functional magnetic resonance imaging) des Motorkortex bei gesunden Probanden und Patienten mit Hirntumor. Die funktionelle MR-Bildgebung wurde bei 14 gesunden Probanden und bei 14 Patienten mit einem Tumor im oder nahe des primaeren Motorkortex durchgefuehrt, wobei beide Kollektive

  9. Improving supplementary feeding in species conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewen, John G; Walker, Leila; Canessa, Stefano; Groombridge, Jim J

    2015-04-01

    Supplementary feeding is often a knee-jerk reaction to population declines, and its application is not critically evaluated, leading to polarized views among managers on its usefulness. Here, we advocate a more strategic approach to supplementary feeding so that the choice to use it is clearly justified over, or in combination with, other management actions and the predicted consequences are then critically assessed following implementation. We propose combining methods from a set of specialist disciplines that will allow critical evaluation of the need, benefit, and risks of food supplementation. Through the use of nutritional ecology, population ecology, and structured decision making, conservation managers can make better choices about what and how to feed by estimating consequences on population recovery across a range of possible actions. This structured approach also informs targeted monitoring and more clearly allows supplementary feeding to be integrated in recovery plans and reduces the risk of inefficient decisions. In New Zealand, managers of the endangered Hihi (Notiomystis cincta) often rely on supplementary feeding to support reintroduced populations. On Kapiti island the reintroduced Hihi population has responded well to food supplementation, but the logistics of providing an increasing demand recently outstretched management capacity. To decide whether and how the feeding regime should be revised, managers used a structured decision making approach informed by population responses to alternative feeding regimes. The decision was made to reduce the spatial distribution of feeders and invest saved time in increasing volume of food delivered into a smaller core area. The approach used allowed a transparent and defendable management decision in regard to supplementary feeding, reflecting the multiple objectives of managers and their priorities. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of Society for

  10. Thermodynamic Analysis of Supplementary-Fired Gas Turbine Cycles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elmegaard, Brian; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk; Qvale, Einar Bjørn

    2002-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of the possibilities for improving the efficiency of an indirectly biomass-fired gas turbine (IBFGT) by supplementary direct gas-firing. The supplementary firing may be based on natural gas, biogas, or pyrolysis gas. {The interest in this cycle arise from a recent...... demonstration of a two-stage gasification process through construction of several plants.} A preliminary analysis of the ideal recuperated Brayton cycle shows that for this cycle any supplementary firing will have a marginal efficiency of unity per extra unit of fuel. The same result is obtained...

  11. Functional MRI of motor speech area combined with motor stimulation during resting period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Yeong Su; Park, Hark Hoon; Chung, Gyung Ho; Lee, Sang Yong; Chon, Su Bin; Kang, Shin Hwa

    1999-01-01

    To evaluate functional MR imaging of the motor speech area with and without motor stimulation during the rest period. Nine healthy, right-handed volunteers(M:F=7:2, age:21-40years) were included in this study. Brain activity was mapped using a multislice, gradient echo single shot EPI on a 1.5T MR scanner. The paradigm consisted on a series of alternating rest and activation tasks, performed six times. Each volunteer in the first study(group A) was given examples of motor stimulation during the rest period, while each in the second study(group B) was not given examples of a rest period. Motor stimulation in group A was achieved by continuously flexing five fingers of the right hand. In both groups, maximum internal word generation was achieved during the activation period. Using fMRI analysis software(Stimulate 5.0) and a cross-correlation method(backgroud threshold, 200; correlation threshold, 0.3; ceiling, 1.0; floor, 0.3; minimal count, 3), functional images were analysed. After correlating the activated foci and a time-signal intensity curve, the activated brain cortex and number of pixels were analysed and compared between the two tasks. The t-test was used for statistical analysis. In all nine subjects in group A and B, activation was observed in and adjacent to the left Broca's area. The mean number of activated pixels was 31.6 in group A and 27.8 in group B, a difference which was not statistically significant(P>0.1). Activities in and adjacent to the right Broca's area were seen in seven of group A and four of group B. The mean number of activated pixels was 14.9 in group A and 18 in group B. Eight of nine volunteers in group A showed activity in the left primary motor area with negative correlation to the time-signal intensity curve. The mean number of activated pixels for this group was 17.5. In three volonteers, activation in the right primary motor area was also observed, the mean number of activated pixels in these cases was 10.0. During the rest

  12. Libert-E Motor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sieloff, Susan F.; Kinnunen, Raymond; Chevarley, Joseph

    2011-01-01

    Kei Yun Wong has big dreams. She has been entrusted with the United States launch of Libert-E Motor, a new line of Chinese-manufactured electric scooters. With only $750,000 of her original budget of $3 million left, she needs to make sure that the launch succeeds, as it represents the initial step in her desire to create the first Chinese global…

  13. The influence of rTMS over prefrontal and motor areas in a morphological task: grammatical vs. semantic effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerfo, Emanuele Lo; Oliveri, Massimiliano; Torriero, Sara; Salerno, Silvia; Koch, Giacomo; Caltagirone, Carlo

    2008-01-31

    We investigated the differential role of two frontal regions in the processing of grammatical and semantic knowledge. Given the documented specificity of the prefrontal cortex for the grammatical class of verbs, and of the primary motor cortex for the semantic class of action words, we sought to investigate whether the prefrontal cortex is also sensitive to semantic effects, and whether the motor cortex is also sensitive to grammatical class effects. We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to suppress the excitability of a portion of left prefontal cortex (first experiment) and of the motor area (second experiment). In the first experiment we found that rTMS applied to the left prefrontal cortex delays the processing of action verbs' retrieval, but is not critical for retrieval of state verbs and state nouns. In the second experiment we found that rTMS applied to the left motor cortex delays the processing of action words, both name and verbs, while it is not critical for the processing of state words. These results support the notion that left prefrontal and motor cortex are involved in the process of action word retrieval. Left prefrontal cortex subserves processing of both grammatical and semantic information, whereas motor cortex contributes to the processing of semantic representation of action words without any involvement in the representation of grammatical categories.

  14. Motor skills training promotes motor functional recovery and induces synaptogenesis in the motor cortex and striatum after intracerebral hemorrhage in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamakoshi, Keigo; Ishida, Akimasa; Takamatsu, Yasuyuki; Hamakawa, Michiru; Nakashima, Hiroki; Shimada, Haruka; Ishida, Kazuto

    2014-03-01

    We investigated the effects of motor skills training on several types of motor function and synaptic plasticity following intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in rats. Male Wistar rats were injected with collagenase into the left striatum to induce ICH, and they were randomly assigned to the ICH or sham groups. Each group was divided into the motor skills training (acrobatic training) and control (no exercise) groups. The acrobatic group performed acrobatic training from 4 to 28 days after surgery. Motor functions were assessed by motor deficit score, the horizontal ladder test and the wide or narrow beam walking test at several time points after ICH. The number of ΔFosB-positive cells was counted using immunohistochemistry to examine neuronal activation, and the PSD95 protein levels were analyzed by Western blotting to examine synaptic plasticity in the bilateral sensorimotor cortices and striata at 14 and 29 days after ICH. Motor skills training following ICH significantly improved gross motor function in the early phase after ICH and skilled motor coordinated function in the late phase. The number of ΔFosB-positive cells in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex in the acrobatic group significantly increased compared to the control group. PSD95 protein expression in the motor cortex significantly increased in the late phase, and in the striatum, the protein level significantly increased in the early phase by motor skills training after ICH compared to no training after ICH. We demonstrated that motor skills training improved motor function after ICH in rats and enhanced the neural activity and synaptic plasticity in the striatum and sensorimotor cortex. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Potentiation of motor sub-networks for motor control but not working memory: Interaction of dACC and SMA revealed by resting-state directed functional connectivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diwadkar, Vaibhav A.; Asemi, Avisa; Burgess, Ashley; Chowdury, Asadur; Bressler, Steven L.

    2017-01-01

    The dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC) and the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) are known to interact during motor coordination behavior. We previously discovered that the directional influences underlying this interaction in a visuo-motor coordination task are asymmetric, with the dACC→SMA influence being significantly greater than that in the reverse direction. To assess the specificity of this effect, here we undertook an analysis of the interaction between dACC and SMA in two distinct contexts. In addition to the motor coordination task, we also assessed these effects during a (n-back) working memory task. We applied directed functional connectivity analysis to these two task paradigms, and also to the rest condition of each paradigm, in which rest blocks were interspersed with task blocks. We report here that the previously known asymmetric interaction between dACC and SMA, with dACC→SMA dominating, was significantly larger in the motor coordination task than the memory task. Moreover the asymmetry between dACC and SMA was reversed during the rest condition of the motor coordination task, but not of the working memory task. In sum, the dACC→SMA influence was significantly greater in the motor task than the memory task condition, and the SMA→dACC influence was significantly greater in the motor rest than the memory rest condition. We interpret these results as suggesting that the potentiation of motor sub-networks during the motor rest condition supports the motor control of SMA by dACC during the active motor task condition. PMID:28278267

  16. [Trauma induced left maxillary sinus dislocation of eyeball--a case report].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu; Liu, Cuiping; Cui, Liping

    2013-01-01

    Patient male, 27 year old. Left facial and head trauma for 6 hours, due to motor vehicle accident. Patient state of mind was clear at arrival to hospital. Body temperature: 36C; Pulse: 80 Time/Minute; Breath: 20 Time/Minute; Blood pressure: 120/80 mm Hg. An irregular, horizontal laceration at arch of left eyebrow, approximately 8-10 cm. A laceration on left wing of nose skin, approximately 1 cm. A laceration also under lower eyelid skin of right eye, approximately 2 cm. Left blepharedema and enophthalmos. Orbital and nasal sinuses CT indications:contusion and laceration of the left frontal lobe of brain; fracture of the left orbital frontal, ethmoid, sphenoid bone, left nasal, maxillary sinus and zygoma with soft tissue contusion and laceration; the left eyeball and optic nerve sunk into the maxillary sinus (See figure 1). (1) Multiple orbital fractures; (2) Left maxillary sinus dislocation of eyeball; (3) The left frontal lobe contusion and laceration of brain.

  17. Aetiological factors in left-handedness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milenković Sanja M.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Lateralisation associates the extremities and senses of one side of the body, which are connected by afferent and efferent pathways, with the primary motor and sensory areas of the hemisphere on the opposite side. Dominant laterality denotes the appearance of a dominant extremity or sense in the performance of complex psychomotor activities. Laterality is manifested both as right-handedness or left-handedness, which are functionally equivalent and symmetrical in the performance of activities. Right-handedness is significantly more common than left-handedness. Genetic theory is most widely accepted in explaining the onset of lateralisation. According to this theory, the models of brain organisation asymmetry (anatomical, functional, and biochemical are strongly, genetically determined. However, the inability to clearly demonstrate the association between genetic factors and left-handedness has led researchers to investigate the effects of the environment on left-handedness. Of particular interest are the intrauterine environment and the factors influencing foetal development, of which hormones and ultrasound exposure are the most significant. It has been estimated that an extra five cases of nonright-handed lateralisation can be expected in every 100 males who were exposed to ultrasound in utero compared to those who were not. Socio-cultural pressure on left-handed individuals was much more severe in the past, which is confirmed by scientific findings that left-handedness is present in 13% of individuals in their twenties, while in less than 1% of individuals in their eighties.

  18. MOTORIC SPEED AND MANUAL DEXTERITY OF CHILDERN WITH IMPAIRED VISION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dženana Radžo Alibegović

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to estimate the motoric speed and manual dexterity of children with visual impairments. The research is covered by a sample size of 35 participants with visual impairment, with ages between 7 and 15 years, of which 19 participants with visual impairment were male and 16 participants with impaired vision were female. The study was conducted in 17 primary schools in the municipality of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results showed that the motoric speed and manual dexterity of children with visual impairment is evenly developed on the right and left hand, and also on both hands together and that there is a relationship between the motoric speed and manual dexterity of the right and left hand and both hands together.

  19. Main Determinants of Supplementary Health Insurance Demand: (Case of Iran)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motlagh, Soraya Nouraei; Gorji, Hassan Abolghasem; Mahdavi, Ghadir; Ghaderi, Hossein

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: In the majority of developing countries, the volume of medical insurance services, provided by social insurance organizations is inadequate. Thus, supplementary medical insurance is proposed as a means to address inadequacy of medical insurance. Accordingly, in this article, we attempted to provide the context for expansion of this important branch of insurance through identification of essential factors affecting demand for supplementary medical insurance. Method: In this study, two methods were used to identify essential factors affecting choice of supplementary medical insurance including Classification and Regression Trees (CART) and Bayesian logit. To this end, Excel® software was used to refine data and R® software for estimation. The present study was conducted during 2012, covering all provinces in Iran. Sample size included 18,541 urban households, selected by Statistical Center of Iran using 3-stage cluster sampling approach. In this study, all data required were collected from the Statistical Center of Iran. Results: In 2012, an overall 8.04% of the Iranian population benefited from supplementary medical insurance. Demand for supplementary insurance is a concave function of age of the household head, and peaks in middle-age when savings and income are highest. The present study results showed greater likelihood of demand for supplementary medical insurance in households with better economic status, higher educated heads, female heads, and smaller households with greater expected medical expenses, and household income is the most important factor affecting demand for supplementary medical insurance. Conclusion: Since demand for supplementary medical insurance is hugely influenced by households’ economic status, policy-makers in the health sector should devise measures to improve households’ economic or financial access to supplementary insurance services, by identifying households in the lower economic deciles, and increasing their

  20. A numerical method to enhance the performance of a cam-type electric motor-driven left ventricular assist device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Huan; Yang, Ming; Lu, Cunyue; Xu, Liang; Zhuang, Xiaoqi; Meng, Fan

    2013-10-01

    Pulsatile left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) driven by electric motors have been widely accepted as a treatment of heart failure. Performance enhancement with computer assistance for this kind of LVAD has seldom been reported. In this article, a numerical method is proposed to assist the design of a cam-type pump. The method requires an integrated model of an LVAD system, consisting of a motor, a transmission mechanism, and a cardiovascular circulation. Performance indices, that is, outlet pressure, outlet flow, and pump efficiency, were used to select the best cam profile from six candidates. A prototype pump connected to a mock circulatory loop (MCL) was used to calibrate the friction coefficient of the cam groove and preliminarily evaluate modeling accuracy. In vitro experiments show that the mean outlet pressure and flow can be predicted with high accuracy by the model, and gross geometries of the measurements can also be reproduced. Simulation results demonstrate that as the total peripheral resistance (TPR) is fixed at 1.1 mm Hg.s/mL, the two-cycle 2/3-rise profile is the best. Compared with other profiles, the maximum increases of pressure and flow indices are 75 and 76%, respectively, and the maximum efficiency increase is over 51%. For different TPRs (0.5∼1.5 mm Hg.s/mL) and operation intervals (0.1∼0.4 s) in counterpulsation, the conclusion is also acceptable. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation.

  1. Altered thalamic connectivity during spontaneous attacks of migraine without aura

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amin, Faisal Mohammad; Hougaard, Anders; Magon, Stefano

    2017-01-01

    ,-58,-30) and cerebellum lobule VI (right, 34,-42,-36 and left, -32,-42,-36). Results We found increased functional connectivity between the right thalamus and several contralateral brain regions (superior parietal lobule, insular cortex, primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area and orbitofrontal cortex...... and the headache-free days. Functional connectivity was assessed in four different networks using seed-based analysis. The chosen seeds were in the thalamus (MNI coordinates x,y,z: right, 22,-24,0 and left, -22,-28,6), pons (right, 8,-24,-32 and left, -8,-24,-32), cerebellum crus I (right, 46,-58,-30 and left, -46......). There was decreased functional connectivity between the right thalamus and three ipsilateral brain areas (primary somatosensory cortex and premotor cortex). We found no change in functional connectivity in the pontine or the cerebellar networks. Conclusions The study indicates that network connectivity between...

  2. Acupuncture Induces Time-Dependent Remodelling Brain Network on the Stable Somatosensory First-Ever Stroke Patients: Combining Diffusion Tensor and Functional MR Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lijun Bai

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Different treatment interventions induce distinct remodelling of network architecture of entire motor system. Acupuncture has been proved to be of a promising efficacy in motor recovery. However, it is still unclear whether the reorganization of motor-related brain network underlying acupuncture is related with time since stroke and severity of deficit at baseline. The aim of study was to characterize the relation between motor-related brain organization following acupuncture and white matter microstructural changes at an interval of two weeks. We demonstrated that acupuncture induced differential reorganization of motor-related network for stroke patients as time-lapse since stroke. At the baseline, acupuncture can induce the increased functional connectivity between the left primary motor cortex (M1 and the right M1, premotor cortex, supplementary motor area (SMA, thalamus, and cerebellum. After two-week recovery, the increased functional connectivity of the left M1 was more widely distributed and primarily located in the insula, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and SMA. Furthermore, a significant negative relation existed between the FA value in the left M1 at the baseline scanning and node centrality of this region following acupuncture for both baseline and two-week recovery. Our findings may shed a new insight on understanding the reorganization of motor-related theory underlying motor impairments after brain lesions in stroke patients.

  3. PS main supply: motor-generator set.

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2002-01-01

    In picture 04 the motor is on the right in the background and the main view is of the generator. The peak power in each PS cycle drawn from the generator, up to 96 MW, is taken from the rotational kinetic energy of the rotor (a heavy-weight of 80 tons), which makes the rotational speed drop by only a few percent. The motor replenishes the average power of 2 to 4 MW. Photo 05: The motor-generator set is serviced every year and, in particular, bearings and slip-rings are carefully checked. To the left is the motor with its slip-rings visible. It has been detached from the axle and moved to the side, so that the rotor can be removed from the huge generator, looming at the right.

  4. Altered cortical processing of motor inhibition in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindberg, Påvel G; Térémetz, Maxime; Charron, Sylvain; Kebir, Oussama; Saby, Agathe; Bendjemaa, Narjes; Lion, Stéphanie; Crépon, Benoît; Gaillard, Raphaël; Oppenheim, Catherine; Krebs, Marie-Odile; Amado, Isabelle

    2016-12-01

    Inhibition is considered a key mechanism in schizophrenia. Short-latency intracortical inhibition (SICI) in the motor cortex is reduced in schizophrenia and is considered to reflect locally deficient γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic modulation. However, it remains unclear how SICI is modulated during motor inhibition and how it relates to neural processing in other cortical areas. Here we studied motor inhibition Stop signal task (SST) in stabilized patients with schizophrenia (N = 28), healthy siblings (N = 21) and healthy controls (n = 31) matched in general cognitive status and educational level. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were used to investigate neural correlates of motor inhibition. SST performance was similar in patients and controls. SICI was modulated by the task as expected in healthy controls and siblings but was reduced in patients with schizophrenia during inhibition despite equivalent motor inhibition performance. fMRI showed greater prefrontal and premotor activation during motor inhibition in schizophrenia. Task-related modulation of SICI was higher in subjects who showed less inhibition-related activity in pre-supplementary motor area (SMA) and cingulate motor area. An exploratory genetic analysis of selected markers of inhibition (GABRB2, GAD1, GRM1, and GRM3) did not explain task-related differences in SICI or cortical activation. In conclusion, this multimodal study provides direct evidence of a task-related deficiency in SICI modulation in schizophrenia likely reflecting deficient GABA-A related processing in motor cortex. Compensatory activation of premotor areas may explain similar motor inhibition in patients despite local deficits in intracortical processing. Task-related modulation of SICI may serve as a useful non-invasive GABAergic marker in development of therapeutic strategies in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Symptom-specific amygdala hyperactivity modulates motor control network in conversion disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Hassa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Initial historical accounts as well as recent data suggest that emotion processing is dysfunctional in conversion disorder patients and that this alteration may be the pathomechanistic neurocognitive basis for symptoms in conversion disorder. However, to date evidence of direct interaction of altered negative emotion processing with motor control networks in conversion disorder is still lacking. To specifically study the neural correlates of emotion processing interacting with motor networks we used a task combining emotional and sensorimotor stimuli both separately as well as simultaneously during functional magnetic resonance imaging in a well characterized group of 13 conversion disorder patients with functional hemiparesis and 19 demographically matched healthy controls. We performed voxelwise statistical parametrical mapping for a priori regions of interest within emotion processing and motor control networks. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI was used to test altered functional connectivity of emotion and motor control networks. Only during simultaneous emotional stimulation and passive movement of the affected hand patients displayed left amygdala hyperactivity. PPI revealed increased functional connectivity in patients between the left amygdala and the (pre-supplemental motor area and the subthalamic nucleus, key regions within the motor control network. These findings suggest a novel mechanistic direct link between dysregulated emotion processing and motor control circuitry in conversion disorder.

  6. Symptom-specific amygdala hyperactivity modulates motor control network in conversion disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassa, Thomas; Sebastian, Alexandra; Liepert, Joachim; Weiller, Cornelius; Schmidt, Roger; Tüscher, Oliver

    2017-01-01

    Initial historical accounts as well as recent data suggest that emotion processing is dysfunctional in conversion disorder patients and that this alteration may be the pathomechanistic neurocognitive basis for symptoms in conversion disorder. However, to date evidence of direct interaction of altered negative emotion processing with motor control networks in conversion disorder is still lacking. To specifically study the neural correlates of emotion processing interacting with motor networks we used a task combining emotional and sensorimotor stimuli both separately as well as simultaneously during functional magnetic resonance imaging in a well characterized group of 13 conversion disorder patients with functional hemiparesis and 19 demographically matched healthy controls. We performed voxelwise statistical parametrical mapping for a priori regions of interest within emotion processing and motor control networks. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) was used to test altered functional connectivity of emotion and motor control networks. Only during simultaneous emotional stimulation and passive movement of the affected hand patients displayed left amygdala hyperactivity. PPI revealed increased functional connectivity in patients between the left amygdala and the (pre-)supplemental motor area and the subthalamic nucleus, key regions within the motor control network. These findings suggest a novel mechanistic direct link between dysregulated emotion processing and motor control circuitry in conversion disorder.

  7. Corticospinal tract integrity and lesion volume play different roles in chronic hemiparesis and its improvement through motor practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sterr, Annette; Dean, Phil J A; Szameitat, Andre J; Conforto, Adriana Bastos; Shen, Shan

    2014-05-01

    Initial evidence suggests that the integrity of the ipsilesional corticospinal tract (CST) after stroke is strongly related to motor function in the chronic state but not the treatment gain induced by motor rehabilitation. We examined the association of motor status and treatment benefit by testing patients with a wide range of severity of hemiparesis of the left and right upper extremity. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed in 22 patients beyond 12 months after onset of stroke with severe to moderate hemiparesis. Motor function was tested before and after 2 weeks of modified constraint-induced movement therapy. CST integrity, but not lesion volume, correlated with the motor ability measures of the Wolf Motor Function Test and the Motor Activity Log. No differences were found between left and right hemiparesis. Motor performance improved significantly with the treatment regime, and did so equally for patients with left and right arm paresis. However, treatment benefit was not associated with either CST integrity or lesion volume. CST integrity correlated best in this small trial with chronic long-term status but not treatment-induced improvements. The CST may play a different role in the mechanisms mediating long-term outcome compared to those underlying practice-induced gains after a chronic plateau in motor function.

  8. Motor system dysfunction in the schizophrenia diathesis: Neural systems to neurotransmitters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abboud, R; Noronha, C; Diwadkar, V A

    2017-07-01

    Motor control is a ubiquitous aspect of human function, and from its earliest origins, abnormal motor control has been proposed as being central to schizophrenia. The neurobiological architecture of the motor system is well understood in primates and involves cortical and sub-cortical components including the primary motor cortex, supplementary motor area, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Notably all of these regions are associated in some manner to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. At the molecular scale, both dopamine and γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) abnormalities have been associated with working memory dysfunction, but particularly relating to the basal ganglia and the prefrontal cortex respectively. As evidence from multiple scales (behavioral, regional and molecular) converges, here we provide a synthesis of the bio-behavioral relevance of motor dysfunction in schizophrenia, and its consistency across scales. We believe that the selective compendium we provide can supplement calls arguing for renewed interest in studying the motor system in schizophrenia. We believe that in addition to being a highly relevant target for the study of schizophrenia related pathways in the brain, such focus provides tractable behavioral probes for in vivo imaging studies in the illness. Our assessment is that the motor system is a highly valuable research domain for the study of schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Effects of supplementary lighting by natural light for growth of Brassica chinensis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Shih-Chuan; Lee, Hui-Ping; Kao, Shih-Tse; Lu, Ju-Lin

    2016-04-01

    This paper present a model of cultivated chamber with supplementary natural colour light. We investigate the effects of supplementary natural red light and natural blue light on growth of Brassica chinensis under natural white light illumination. After 4 weeks of supplementary colour light treatment, the experiment results shown that the weight of fresh leaf were not affected by supplementary natural blue light. However, those Brassica chinensis were cultivated in the chambers with supplementary natural red light obtained a significant increasing of fresh weight of leaf under both white light illuminate models. The combination of natural white light with supplementary natural red light illumination will be benefits in growth for cultivation and energy saving.

  10. Use and mis-use of supplementary material in science publications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pop, Mihai; Salzberg, Steven L

    2015-11-03

    Supplementary material is a ubiquitous feature of scientific articles, particularly in journals that limit the length of the articles. While the judicious use of supplementary material can improve the readability of scientific articles, its excessive use threatens the scientific review process and by extension the integrity of the scientific literature. In many cases supplementary material today is so extensive that it is reviewed superficially or not at all. Furthermore, citations buried within supplementary files rob other scientists of recognition of their contribution to the scientific record. These issues are exacerbated by the lack of guidance on the use of supplementary information from the journals to authors and reviewers. We propose that the removal of artificial length restrictions plus the use of interactive features made possible by modern electronic media can help to alleviate these problems. Many journals, in fact, have already removed article length limitations (as is the case for BMC Bioinformatics and other BioMed Central journals). We hope that the issues raised in our article will encourage publishers and scientists to work together towards a better use of supplementary information in scientific publishing.

  11. Motor and non-motor circuitry activation induced by subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in Parkinson’s disease patients: Intraoperative fMRI for DBS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Emily J.; Testini, Paola; Min, Hoon-Ki; Gibson, William S.; Gorny, Krzysztof R.; Favazza, Christopher P.; Felmlee, Joel P.; Kim, Inyong; Welker, Kirk M.; Clayton, Daniel A.; Klassen, Bryan T.; Chang, Su-youne; Lee, Kendall H.

    2015-01-01

    Objective To test the hypothesis suggested by previous studies that subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with PD would affect the activity of both motor and non-motor networks, we applied intraoperative fMRI to patients receiving DBS. Patients and Methods Ten patients receiving STN DBS for PD underwent intraoperative 1.5T fMRI during high frequency stimulation delivered via an external pulse generator. The study was conducted between the dates of January 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. Results We observed blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal changes (FDR<.001) in the motor circuitry, including primary motor, premotor, and supplementary motor cortices, thalamus, pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), and cerebellum, as well as in the limbic circuitry, including cingulate and insular cortices. Activation of the motor network was observed also after applying a Bonferroni correction (p<.001) to our dataset, suggesting that, across subjects, BOLD changes in the motor circuitry are more consistent compared to those occurring in the non-motor network. Conclusions These findings support the modulatory role of STN DBS on the activity of motor and non-motor networks, and suggest complex mechanisms at the basis of the efficacy of this treatment modality. Furthermore, these results suggest that, across subjects, BOLD changes in the motor circuitry are more consistent compared to those occurring in the non-motor network. With further studies combining the use of real time intraoperative fMRI with clinical outcomes in patients treated with DBS, functional imaging techniques have the potential not only to elucidate the mechanisms of DBS functioning, but also to guide and assist in the surgical treatment of patients affected by movement and neuropsychiatric disorders. PMID:26046412

  12. Metabolic changes of cerebrum by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over lateral cerebellum: a study with FDG PET.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Sang Soo; Yoon, Eun Jin; Bang, Sung Ae; Park, Hyun Soo; Kim, Yu Kyeong; Strafella, Antonio P; Kim, Sang Eun

    2012-09-01

    To better understand the functional role of cerebellum within the large-scale cerebellocerebral neural network, we investigated the changes of neuronal activity elicited by cerebellar repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET). Twelve right-handed healthy volunteers were studied with brain FDG PET under two conditions: active rTMS of 1 Hz frequency over the left lateral cerebellum and sham stimulation. Compared to the sham condition, active rTMS induced decreased glucose metabolism in the stimulated left lateral cerebellum, the areas known to be involved in voluntary motor movement (supplementary motor area and posterior parietal cortex) in the right cerebral hemisphere, and the areas known to be involved in cognition and emotion (orbitofrontal, medial frontal, and anterior cingulate gyri) in the left cerebral hemisphere. Increased metabolism was found in cognition- and language-related brain regions such as the left inferior frontal gyrus including Broca's area, bilateral superior temporal gyri including Wernicke's area, and bilateral middle temporal gyri. Left cerebellar rTMS also led to increased metabolism in the left cerebellar dentate nucleus and pons. These results demonstrate that rTMS over the left lateral cerebellum modulates not only the target region excitability but also excitability of remote, but interconnected, motor-, language-, cognition-, and emotion-related cerebral regions. They provide further evidence that the cerebellum is involved not only in motor-related functions but also in higher cognitive abilities and emotion through the large-scale cerebellocereberal neural network.

  13. Short-lived brain state after cued motor imagery in naive subjects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pfurtscheller, G.; Scherer, R.; Müller-Putz, G.R.; Lopes da Silva, F.H.

    2008-01-01

    Multi-channel electroencephalography recordings have shown that a visual cue, indicating right hand, left hand or foot motor imagery, can induce a short-lived brain state in the order of about 500 ms. In the present study, 10 able-bodied subjects without any motor imagery experience (naive subjects)

  14. Age-related changes in oscillatory power affect motor action.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liqing Liu

    Full Text Available With increasing age cognitive performance slows down. This includes cognitive processes essential for motor performance. Additionally, performance of motor tasks becomes less accurate. The objective of the present study was to identify general neural correlates underlying age-related behavioral slowing and the reduction in motor task accuracy. To this end, we continuously recorded EEG activity from 18 younger and 24 older right-handed healthy participants while they were performing a simple finger tapping task. We analyzed the EEG records with respect to local changes in amplitude (power spectrum as well as phase locking between the two age groups. We found differences between younger and older subjects in the amplitude of post-movement synchronization in the β band of the sensory-motor and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC. This post-movement β amplitude was significantly reduced in older subjects. Moreover, it positively correlated with the accuracy with which subjects performed the motor task at the electrode FCz, which detects activity of the mPFC and the supplementary motor area. In contrast, we found no correlation between the accurate timing of local neural activity, i.e. phase locking in the δ-θ frequency band, with the reaction and movement time or the accuracy with which the motor task was performed. Our results show that only post-movement β amplitude and not δ-θ phase locking is involved in the control of movement accuracy. The decreased post-movement β amplitude in the mPFC of older subjects hints at an impaired deactivation of this area, which may affect the cognitive control of stimulus-induced motor tasks and thereby motor output.

  15. What Is the Role of Manual Preference in Hand-Digit Mapping During Finger Counting? A Study in a Large Sample of Right- and Left-Handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zago, Laure; Badets, Arnaud

    2016-01-01

    The goal of the present study was to test whether there is a relationship between manual preference and hand-digit mapping in 369 French adults with similar numbers of right- and left-handers. Manual laterality was evaluated with the finger tapping test to evaluate hand motor asymmetry, and the Edinburgh handedness inventory was used to assess manual preference strength (MPS) and direction. Participants were asked to spontaneously "count on their fingers from 1 to 10" without indications concerning the hand(s) to be used. The results indicated that both MPS and hand motor asymmetry affect the hand-starting preference for counting. Left-handers with a strong left-hand preference (sLH) or left-hand motor asymmetry largely started to count with their left hand (left-starter), while right-handers with a strong right-hand preference (sRH) or right-hand motor asymmetry largely started to count with their right hand (right-starter). Notably, individuals with weak MPS did not show a hand-starting preference. These findings demonstrated that manual laterality contributes to finger counting directionality. Lastly, the results showed a higher proportion of sLH left-starter individuals compared with sRH right-starters, indicating an asymmetric bias of MPS on hand-starting preference. We hypothesize that the higher proportion of sLH left-starters could be explained by the congruence between left-to-right hand-digit mapping and left-to-right mental number line representation that has been largely reported in the literature. Taken together, these results indicate that finger-counting habits integrate biological and cultural information. © The Author(s) 2015.

  16. Assessment of sensorimotor cortical representation asymmetries and motor skills in violin players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwenkreis, Peter; El Tom, Susan; Ragert, Patrick; Pleger, Burkhard; Tegenthoff, Martin; Dinse, Hubert R

    2007-12-01

    As a model for use-dependent plasticity, the brains of professional musicians have been extensively studied to examine structural and functional adaptation to unique requirements of skilled performance. Here we provide a combination of data on motor performance and hand representation in the primary motor and somatosensory cortex of professional violin players, with the aim of assessing possible behavioural consequences of sensorimotor cortical asymmetries. We studied 15 healthy right-handed professional violin players and 35 healthy nonmusician controls. Motor and somatosensory cortex asymmetry was assessed by recording the motor output map after transcranial magnetic stimulation from a small hand muscle, and by dipole source localization of somatosensory evoked potentials after electrical stimulation of the median and ulnar nerves. Motor performance was examined using a series of standardized motor tasks covering different aspects of hand function. Violin players showed a significant right-larger-than-left asymmetry of the motor and somatosensory cortex, whereas nonmusician controls showed no significant interhemispheric difference. The amount of asymmetry in the motor and somatosensory cortices of musicians was significantly correlated. At the behavioural level, motor performance did not significantly differ between musicians and nonmusicians. The results support a use-dependent enlargement of the left hand representation in the sensorimotor cortex of violin players. However, these cortical asymmetries were not paralleled by accompanying altered asymmetries at a behavioural level, suggesting that the reorganisation might be task-specific and does not lead to improved motor abilities in general.

  17. Training for Micrographia Alters Neural Connectivity in Parkinson's Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evelien Nackaerts

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite recent advances in clarifying the neural networks underlying rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease (PD, the impact of prolonged motor learning interventions on brain connectivity in people with PD is currently unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare cortical network changes after 6 weeks of visually cued handwriting training (= experimental with a placebo intervention to address micrographia, a common problem in PD. Twenty seven early Parkinson's patients on dopaminergic medication performed a pre-writing task in both the presence and absence of visual cues during behavioral tests and during fMRI. Subsequently, patients were randomized to the experimental (N = 13 or placebo intervention (N = 14 both lasting 6 weeks, after which they underwent the same testing procedure. We used dynamic causal modeling to compare the neural network dynamics in both groups before and after training. Most importantly, intensive writing training propagated connectivity via the left hemispheric visuomotor stream to an increased coupling with the supplementary motor area, not witnessed in the placebo group. Training enhanced communication in the left visuomotor integration system in line with the learned visually steered training. Notably, this pattern was apparent irrespective of the presence of cues, suggesting transfer from cued to uncued handwriting. We conclude that in early PD intensive motor skill learning, which led to clinical improvement, alters cortical network functioning. We showed for the first time in a placebo-controlled design that it remains possible to enhance the drive to the supplementary motor area through motor learning.

  18. Can free-viewing perceptual asymmetries be explained by scanning, pre-motor or attentional biases?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholls, Michael E R; Roberts, Georgina R

    2002-04-01

    Judgments of relative magnitude between the left and right sides of a stimulus are generally weighted toward the features contained on the left side. This leftward perceptual bias could be the result of, (a) left-to-right scanning biases, (b) pre-motor activation of the right hemisphere, or (c) a left hemispatial attentional bias. The relative merits of these explanations of perceptual asymmetry were investigated. In Experiment 1, English and Hebrew readers made luminance judgements for two left/right mirror-reversed luminance gradients (greyscales task). Despite different reading/scanning habits, both groups exhibited a leftward perceptual bias. English and Hebrew readers also performed a line bisection task. Scanning biases were controlled by asking participants to follow a marker as it moved left-to-right or right-to-left and then stop it as it reached the midpoint of the line. Despite controlling scanning, a leftward bias was observed in both groups. In Experiment 2, peripheral spatial cues were presented prior to the greyscales stimuli. English readers showed a reduction in the leftward bias for right-sided cues as compared to left-sided and neutral cues. Right-side cues presumably overcame a pre-existing leftward attentional bias. In both experiments, pre-motor activation was controlled using bimanual responses. Despite this control, a leftward bias was observed throughout the study. The data support the attentional bias account of leftward perceptual biases over the scanning and pre-motor activation accounts. Whether or not unilateral hemispheric activation provides an adequate account of this attentional bias is discussed.

  19. Probabilistic cloning with supplementary information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azuma, Koji; Shimamura, Junichi; Koashi, Masato; Imoto, Nobuyuki

    2005-01-01

    We consider probabilistic cloning of a state chosen from a mutually nonorthogonal set of pure states, with the help of a party holding supplementary information in the form of pure states. When the number of states is 2, we show that the best efficiency of producing m copies is always achieved by a two-step protocol in which the helping party first attempts to produce m-1 copies from the supplementary state, and if it fails, then the original state is used to produce m copies. On the other hand, when the number of states exceeds two, the best efficiency is not always achieved by such a protocol. We give examples in which the best efficiency is not achieved even if we allow any amount of one-way classical communication from the helping party

  20. Improving ideomotor limb apraxia by electrical stimulation of the left posterior parietal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolognini, Nadia; Convento, Silvia; Banco, Elisabetta; Mattioli, Flavia; Tesio, Luigi; Vallar, Giuseppe

    2015-02-01

    Limb apraxia, a deficit of planning voluntary gestures, is most frequently caused by damage to the left hemisphere, where, according to an influential neurofunctional model, gestures are planned, before being executed through the motor cortex of the hemisphere contralateral to the acting hand. We used anodal transcranial direct current stimulation delivered to the left posterior parietal cortex (PPC), the right motor cortex (M1), and a sham stimulation condition, to modulate the ability of six left-brain-damaged patients with ideomotor apraxia, and six healthy control subjects, to imitate hand gestures, and to perform skilled hand movements using the left hand. Transcranial direct current stimulation delivered to the left PPC reduced the time required to perform skilled movements, and planning, but not execution, times in imitating gestures, in both patients and controls. In patients, the amount of decrease of planning times brought about by left PPC transcranial direct current stimulation was influenced by the size of the parietal lobe damage, with a larger parietal damage being associated with a smaller improvement. Of interest from a clinical perspective, left PPC stimulation also ameliorated accuracy in imitating hand gestures in patients. Instead, transcranial direct current stimulation to the right M1 diminished execution, but not planning, times in both patients and healthy controls. In conclusion, by using a transcranial stimulation approach, we temporarily improved ideomotor apraxia in the left hand of left-brain-damaged patients, showing a role of the left PPC in planning gestures. This evidence opens up novel perspectives for the use of transcranial direct current stimulation in the rehabilitation of limb apraxia. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Increased Reliance on Value-based Decision Processes Following Motor Cortex Disruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zénon, Alexandre; Klein, Pierre-Alexandre; Alamia, Andrea; Boursoit, François; Wilhelm, Emmanuelle; Duque, Julie

    2015-01-01

    During motor decision making, the neural activity in primary motor cortex (M1) encodes dynamically the competition occurring between potential action plans. A common view is that M1 represents the unfolding of the outcome of a decision process taking place upstream. Yet, M1 could also be directly involved in the decision process. Here we tested this hypothesis by assessing the effect of M1 disruption on a motor decision-making task. We applied continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) to inhibit either left or right M1 in different groups of subjects and included a third control group with no stimulation. Following cTBS, participants performed a task that required them to choose between two finger key-presses with the right hand according to both perceptual and value-based information. Effects were assessed by means of generalized linear mixed models and computational simulations. In all three groups, subjects relied both on perceptual (P < 0.0001) and value-based information (P = 0.003) to reach a decision. Yet, left M1 disruption led to an increased reliance on value-based information (P = 0.03). This result was confirmed by a computational model showing an increased weight of the valued-based process on the right hand finger choices following left M1 cTBS (P < 0.01). These results indicate that M1 is involved in motor decision making, possibly by weighting the final integration of multiple sources of evidence driving motor behaviors. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Manipulating motor performance and memory through real-time fMRI neurofeedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharnowski, Frank; Veit, Ralf; Zopf, Regine; Studer, Petra; Bock, Simon; Diedrichsen, Jörn; Goebel, Rainer; Mathiak, Klaus; Birbaumer, Niels; Weiskopf, Nikolaus

    2015-01-01

    Task performance depends on ongoing brain activity which can be influenced by attention, arousal, or motivation. However, such modulating factors of cognitive efficiency are unspecific, can be difficult to control, and are not suitable to facilitate neural processing in a regionally specific manner. Here, we non-pharmacologically manipulated regionally specific brain activity using technically sophisticated real-time fMRI neurofeedback. This was accomplished by training participants to simultaneously control ongoing brain activity in circumscribed motor and memory-related brain areas, namely the supplementary motor area and the parahippocampal cortex. We found that learned voluntary control over these functionally distinct brain areas caused functionally specific behavioral effects, i.e. shortening of motor reaction times and specific interference with memory encoding. The neurofeedback approach goes beyond improving cognitive efficiency by unspecific psychological factors such as attention, arousal, or motivation. It allows for directly manipulating sustained activity of task-relevant brain regions in order to yield specific behavioral or cognitive effects. PMID:25796342

  3. Transformation of a virtual action plan into a motor plan in the premotor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakayama, Yoshihisa; Yamagata, Tomoko; Tanji, Jun; Hoshi, Eiji

    2008-10-08

    Before preparing to initiate a forthcoming motion, we often acquire information about the future action without specifying actual motor parameters. The information for planning an action at this conceptual level can be provided with verbal commands or nonverbal signals even before the associated motor targets are visible. Under these conditions, the information signifying a virtual action plan must be transformed to information that can be used for constructing a motor plan to initiate specific movements. To determine whether the premotor cortex is involved in this process, we examined neuronal activity in the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) of monkeys performing a behavioral task designed to isolate the behavioral stages of the acquisition of information for a future action and the construction of a motor plan. We trained the animals to receive a symbolic instruction (color and shape of an instruction cue) to determine whether to select the right or left of targets to reach, despite the physical absence of targets. Subsequently, two targets appeared on a screen at different locations. The animals then determined the correct target (left or right) based on the previous instruction and prepared to initiate a reaching movement to an actual target. The experimental design dissociated the selection of the right/left at an abstract level (action plan) from the physical motor plan. Here, we show that activity of individual PMd neurons initially reflects a virtual action plan transcending motor specifics, before these neurons contribute to a transformation process that leads to activity encoding a motor plan.

  4. Changes in corticospinal drive to spinal motoneurones following visuo-motor skill learning in humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Perez, Monica A.; Jensen, Jesper Lundbye; Nielsen, Jens Bo

    2006-01-01

    learning. Here we investigated the effect of visuo-motor skill training involving the ankle muscles on the coupling between electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded from the motor cortex (Cz) and electromyographic (EMG) activity recorded from the left tibialis anterior (TA) muscle in 11 volunteers...... between cortex and muscle as part of the motor learning process....

  5. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Non-oxidative methane ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    dell

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Non-oxidative methane dehydroaromatization reaction over highly active α-MoC1-x ZSM-5 derived from pretreatment. BUDDE PRADEEP KUMAR, ARVIND KUMAR SINGH and SREEDEVI UPADHYAYULA*. Heterogeneous Catalysis & Reaction Engineering Laboratory, Department of ...

  6. Handedness of a motor program in C. elegans is independent of left-right body asymmetry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanna C Downes

    Full Text Available Complex animals display bilaterally asymmetric motor behavior, or "motor handedness," often revealed by preferential use of limbs on one side. For example, use of right limbs is dominant in a strong majority of humans. While the mechanisms that establish bilateral asymmetry in motor function are unknown in humans, they appear to be distinct from those for other handedness asymmetries, including bilateral visceral organ asymmetry, brain laterality, and ocular dominance. We report here that a simple, genetically homogeneous animal comprised of only ~1000 somatic cells, the nematode C. elegans, also shows a distinct motor handedness preference: on a population basis, males show a pronounced right-hand turning bias during mating. The handedness bias persists through much of adult lifespan, suggesting that, as in more complex animals, it is an intrinsic trait of each individual, which can differ from the population mean. Our observations imply that the laterality of motor handedness preference in C. elegans is driven by epigenetic factors rather than by genetic variation. The preference for right-hand turns is also seen in animals with mirror-reversed anatomical handedness and is not attributable to stochastic asymmetric loss of male sensory rays that occurs by programmed cell death. As with C. elegans, we also observed a substantial handedness bias, though not necessarily the same preference in direction, in several gonochoristic Caenorhabditis species. These findings indicate that the independence of bilaterally asymmetric motor dominance from overall anatomical asymmetry, and a population-level tendency away from ambidexterity, occur even in simple invertebrates, suggesting that these may be common features of bilaterian metazoans.

  7. 3D visualization of movements can amplify motor cortex activation during subsequent motor imagery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa eSollfrank

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available A repetitive movement practice by motor imagery (MI can influence motor cortical excitability in the electroencephalogram (EEG. The feedback and the feedback environment should be inherently motivating and relevant for the learner and should have an appeal of novelty, real-world relevance or aesthetic value (Ryan and Deci, 2000; Merrill, 2007. This study investigated if a realistic visualization in 3D of upper and lower limb movements can amplify motor related potentials during motor imagery. We hypothesized that a richer sensory visualization might be more effective during instrumental conditioning, resulting in a more pronounced event related desynchronisation (ERD of the upper alpha band (10-12 Hz over the sensorimotor cortices thereby potentially improving MI based BCI protocols for motor rehabilitation. The results show a strong increase of the characteristic patterns of ERD of the upper alpha band components for left and right limb motor imagery present over the sensorimotor areas in both visualization conditions. Overall, significant differences were observed as a function of visualization modality (2D vs. 3D. The largest upper alpha band power decrease was obtained during motor imagery after a 3-dimensional visualization. In total in 12 out of 20 tasks the end-user of the 3D visualization group showed an enhanced upper alpha ERD relative to 2D visualization modality group, with statistical significance in nine tasks.With a realistic visualization of the limb movements, we tried to increase motor cortex activation during MI. Realistic visual feedback, consistent with the participant’s motor imagery, might be helpful for accomplishing successful motor imagery and the use of such feedback may assist in making BCI a more natural interface for motor imagery based BCI rehabilitation.

  8. Functional MR imaging using sensory and motor task in brain tumors and other focal cerebral lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ok, Chul Su; Lim, Myung Kwan; Yu, Ki Bong; Kim, Hyung Jin; Suh, Chang Hae

    2002-01-01

    To determine the usefulness of the functional MRI (fMRI) using motor and sensory stimuli in patients with brain tumors of focal cerebral lesions. This study involved five patients with brain tumors (n=2) or cerebral lesions (cysticercosis (n=1), arteriovenous malformation (n=1), focal infarction (n=1) and seven normal controls. For MR examinations a 1.5T scanner was used, and during motor or sensory stimulation, the EPI BOLD technique was employed. For image postprocessing an SPM program was utilized. In volunteers, contralateral sensori-motor cortices were activated by both motor and sensory stimuli, while supplementary motor cortices were activated by motor stimuli and other sensory cortices by sensory stimuli. Preoperative evaluation of the relationship between lesions and important sensory and motor areas was possible, and subsequent surgery was thus successful, involving no severe complications. Activation of ipsilateral or other areas occurred in patients with destruction of a major sensory and/or motor area, suggesting compensatory reorganization. fMRI could be a useful supportive method for determining the best approach to surgery treatment in patients with brain tumors or focal cerebral lesions

  9. Higher integrity of the motor and visual pathways in long-term video game players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yang; Du, Guijin; Yang, Yongxin; Qin, Wen; Li, Xiaodong; Zhang, Quan

    2015-01-01

    Long term video game players (VGPs) exhibit superior visual and motor skills compared with non-video game control subjects (NVGCs). However, the neural basis underlying the enhanced behavioral performance remains largely unknown. To clarify this issue, the present study compared the whiter matter integrity within the corticospinal tracts (CST), the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), and the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) between the VGPs and the NVGCs using diffusion tensor imaging. Compared with the NVGCs, voxel-wise comparisons revealed significantly higher fractional anisotropy (FA) values in some regions within the left CST, left SLF, bilateral ILF, and IFOF in VGPs. Furthermore, higher FA values in the left CST at the level of cerebral peduncle predicted a faster response in visual attention tasks. These results suggest that higher white matter integrity in the motor and higher-tier visual pathways is associated with long-term video game playing, which may contribute to the understanding on how video game play influences motor and visual performance.

  10. Facilitation of speech repetition accuracy by theta burst stimulation of the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Restle, Julia; Murakami, Takenobu; Ziemann, Ulf

    2012-07-01

    The posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG) in the left hemisphere is thought to form part of the putative human mirror neuron system and is assigned a key role in mapping sensory perception onto motor action. Accordingly, the pIFG is involved in motor imitation of the observed actions of others but it is not known to what extent speech repetition of auditory-presented sentences is also a function of the pIFG. Here we applied fMRI-guided facilitating intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS), or depressant continuous TBS (cTBS), or intermediate TBS (imTBS) over the left pIFG of healthy subjects and compared speech repetition accuracy of foreign Japanese sentences before and after TBS. We found that repetition accuracy improved after iTBS and, to a lesser extent, after imTBS, but remained unchanged after cTBS. In a control experiment, iTBS was applied over the left middle occipital gyrus (MOG), a region not involved in sensorimotor processing of auditory-presented speech. Repetition accuracy remained unchanged after iTBS of MOG. We argue that the stimulation type and stimulation site specific facilitating effect of iTBS over left pIFG on speech repetition accuracy indicates a causal role of the human left-hemispheric pIFG in the translation of phonological perception to motor articulatory output for repetition of speech. This effect may prove useful in rehabilitation strategies that combine repetitive speech training with iTBS of the left pIFG in speech disorders, such as aphasia after cerebral stroke. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. [Pure trigeminal motor neuropathy presenting with temporo-mandibular joint dysfunction in a patient with HIV and HCV infections].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anheim, M; Echaniz-Laguna, A; Rey, D; Tranchant, C

    2006-01-01

    Pure trigeminal motor neuropathy (PTMN) is a rarely described condition. We report the case of a 41-year-old woman infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV1) and hepatitis C virus who presented with weakness of left temporalis and masseter muscles and painful left temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) a few months after cerebral toxoplasmosis revealing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed severe wasting and fat replacement of the left temporalis, pterygoid and masseter muscles and showed neither abnormalities in the left motor nucleus of the trigeminal nerve nor compression of the left trigeminal nerve. Electromyographic examination gave evidence of denervation in the left temporalis, masseter and pterygoid muscles and blink reflex studies were normal, confirming the diagnosis of PTMN which was probably secondary to HIV and HCV co-infection.

  12. Body-specific representations of action word meanings in right and left handers

    OpenAIRE

    Daniel Casasanto

    2007-01-01

    If understanding action words involves mentally simulating our own actions, then the neurocognitive representation of word meanings must differ for people with different kinds of bodies, who perform actions in systematically different ways. In a test of the _Body-Specificity Hypothesis_, right- and left-handers were compared on two motor-meaning congruity tasks. Double dissociations in both action execution and recognition memory results showed that right and left handers form body-specific r...

  13. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Dimethylglyoxime as an ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    lenovo

    1. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Dimethylglyoxime as an Efficient Ligand for Copper-Catalyzed Hydroxylation of Aryl. Halides. SURESH S SHENDAGE*. Department of Chemistry, KET'S Vinayak Ganesh Vaze College of Arts, Science and. Commerce, Mithagar Road, Mulund (E) Mumbai, Maharashtra 400 081, India.

  14. Examining the neural correlates of depressive and motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease using Frequency Component Analysis (FCA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Xiaopeng; Hu, Xiao; Zhou, Shuqin; Liu, Weiguo; Liu, Yijun; Zhu, Huaiqiu; Gao, Jia-Hong

    2016-03-01

    Depression is prevalent among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD); however the pathophysiology of depression in PD is not well understood. In order to investigate how depression and motor impairments differentially and interactively affect specific brain regions in Parkinson's disease, we introduced a new data driven approach, namely Frequency Component Analysis (FCA), to decompose the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 59 subjects with Parkinson's disease into different frequency bands. We then evaluated the main effects of motor severity and depression, and their interactive effects on the BOLD-fMRI signal oscillation energy in these specific frequency components. Our results show that the severity of motor symptoms is more negatively correlated with energy in the frequency band of 0.10-0.25Hz in the bilateral thalamus (THA), but more positively correlated with energy in the frequency band of 0.01-0.027Hz in the bilateral postcentral gyrus (PoCG). In contrast, the severity of depressive symptoms is more associated with the higher energy of the high frequency oscillations (>0.1Hz) but lower energy of 0.01-0.027Hz in the bilateral subgenual gyrus (SGC). Importantly, the interaction between motor and depressive symptoms is negatively correlated with the energy of high frequency oscillations (>0.1Hz) in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA), left hippocampus (HIPP), left inferior orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), but positively correlated with the energy of 0.02-0.05Hz in the left inferior OFC, left TPJ, left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), and bilateral cerebellum. These results demonstrated that FCA was a promising method in interrogating the neurophysiological implications of different brain rhythms. Our findings further revealed the neural bases underlying the interactions as well the dissociations between motor and depressive symptoms in Parkinson's disease.

  15. [Trigeminal motor paralysis and dislocation of the temporo-mandibular joints].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohkawa, S; Yoshida, T; Ohsumi, Y; Tabuchi, M

    1996-07-01

    A 64-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus was admitted to our hospital with left hemiparesis of sudden onset. A brain MRI demonstrated a cerebral infarction in the ventral part of the right lower pons. When left hemiparesis worsened, she had dislocation of the temporo-mandibular joints repeatedly. Then, her lower jaw deviated to the right when she opened her mouth. Also, there was decreased contraction of the right masseter when she clenched her teeth. These findings suggest that there was trigeminal motor paralysis on the right side resulting from involvement of the intrapontine trigeminal motor nerve. She has no history of dislocation of the temporo-mandibular joints. An X-ray film showed that the temporo-mandibular joints were intact. Thus, it is possible that deviation of the lower jaw was the cause of this dislocation. We suspect that dislocation of the temporo-mandibular joints may occur as a complication of unilateral trigeminal motor paralysis. This has not been reported to our knowledge.

  16. Cerebral hemorrhage without manifest motor paralysis. Reports of 5 cases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Taketani, T.; Dohi, I.; Miyazaki, T.; Handa, A. (Central Hospital of JNR, Tokyo (Japan))

    1982-01-01

    Before the introduction of computerized tomography (CT) there were some cases of intracerebral bleeding who were wrongly diagnosed as hypertensive encephalopathy or senile psychosis. We here report 5 cases who did not show any sign of motor paralysis. The clinical aspects of these cases were nausea and vomiting with dizziness (case 1), nausea and vomiting with slight headache (case 2), agnosia of left side with several kinds of disorientation (case 3), nausea and vomiting (case 4), and visual disturbance of right, lower quadrant (case 5). All of these cases showed no motor paralysis or abnormal reflex activities. By examination with CT each of them exhibited a high density area in the subcortical area of the right parietal lobe, the subcortical area of the right occipital lobe, the right temporal and parietal lobe, rather small portion of the left putamen and external capsule, and the subcortical area of left occipital lobe, respectively. Patients of cerebral hemorrhage without motor or sensory disturbances might often be taken for some psychic abnormality. We here have emphasized the importance of CT in such a group of patients. But for this technique, most of them would not be given adequate treatment and might be exposed to lifethreatening situations.

  17. Prognostic Value of Cortically Induced Motor Evoked Activity by TMS in Chronic Stroke: Caveats from a Revealing Single Clinical Case

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Amengual, Julià L

    2012-06-08

    AbstractBackgroundWe report the case of a chronic stroke patient (62 months after injury) showing total absence of motor activity evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of spared regions of the left motor cortex, but near-to-complete recovery of motor abilities in the affected hand.Case presentationMultimodal investigations included detailed TMS based motor mapping, motor evoked potentials (MEP), and Cortical Silent period (CSP) as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of motor activity, MRI based lesion analysis and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Tractography of corticospinal tract (CST). Anatomical analysis revealed a left hemisphere subinsular lesion interrupting the descending left CST at the level of the internal capsule. The absence of MEPs after intense TMS pulses to the ipsilesional M1, and the reversible suppression of ongoing electromyographic (EMG) activity (indexed by CSP) demonstrate a weak modulation of subcortical systems by the ipsilesional left frontal cortex, but an inability to induce efficient descending volleys from those cortical locations to right hand and forearm muscles. Functional MRI recordings under grasping and finger tapping patterns involving the affected hand showed slight signs of subcortical recruitment, as compared to the unaffected hand and hemisphere, as well as the expected cortical activations.ConclusionsThe potential sources of motor voluntary activity for the affected hand in absence of MEPs are discussed. We conclude that multimodal analysis may contribute to a more accurate prognosis of stroke patients.

  18. Prognostic value of cortically induced motor evoked activity by TMS in chronic stroke: Caveats from a revealing single clinical case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amengual Julià L

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We report the case of a chronic stroke patient (62 months after injury showing total absence of motor activity evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS of spared regions of the left motor cortex, but near-to-complete recovery of motor abilities in the affected hand. Case presentation Multimodal investigations included detailed TMS based motor mapping, motor evoked potentials (MEP, and Cortical Silent period (CSP as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI of motor activity, MRI based lesion analysis and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI Tractography of corticospinal tract (CST. Anatomical analysis revealed a left hemisphere subinsular lesion interrupting the descending left CST at the level of the internal capsule. The absence of MEPs after intense TMS pulses to the ipsilesional M1, and the reversible suppression of ongoing electromyographic (EMG activity (indexed by CSP demonstrate a weak modulation of subcortical systems by the ipsilesional left frontal cortex, but an inability to induce efficient descending volleys from those cortical locations to right hand and forearm muscles. Functional MRI recordings under grasping and finger tapping patterns involving the affected hand showed slight signs of subcortical recruitment, as compared to the unaffected hand and hemisphere, as well as the expected cortical activations. Conclusions The potential sources of motor voluntary activity for the affected hand in absence of MEPs are discussed. We conclude that multimodal analysis may contribute to a more accurate prognosis of stroke patients.

  19. The Resting Motor Threshold - Restless or Resting?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karabanov, Anke Ninija; Raffin, Estelle Emeline; Siebner, Hartwig Roman

    2015-01-01

    , the RMT of the right first dorsal interosseus muscle was repeatedly determined using a threshold-hunting procedure while participants performed motor imagery and visual attention tasks with the right or left hand. Data were analyzed using repeated-measure ANOVA. Results RMT differed depending on which...

  20. How thoughts give rise to action - conscious motor intention increases the excitability of target-specific motor circuits.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volker R Zschorlich

    Full Text Available The present study shows evidence for conscious motor intention in motor preparation prior to movement execution. We demonstrate that conscious motor intention of directed movement, combined with minimally supra-threshold transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS of the motor cortex, determines the direction and the force of resulting movements, whilst a lack of intention results in weak and omni-directed muscle activation. We investigated changes of consciously intended goal directed movements by analyzing amplitudes of motor-evoked potentials of the forearm muscle, flexor carpi radialis (FCR, and extensor carpi radialis (ECR, induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right motor cortex and their motor outcome. Right-handed subjects were asked to develop a strong intention to move their left wrist (flexion or extension, without any overt motor output at the wrist, prior to brain stimulation. Our analyses of hand acceleration and electromyography showed that during the strong motor intention of wrist flexion movement, it evoked motor potential responses that were significantly larger in the FCR muscle than in the ECR, whilst the opposite was true for an extension movement. The acceleration data on flexion/extension corresponded to this finding. Under no-intention conditions again, which served as a reference for motor evoked potentials, brain stimulation resulted in undirected and minimally simultaneous extension/flexion innervation and virtually no movement. These results indicate that conscious intentions govern motor function, which in turn shows that a neuronal activation representing an "intention network" in the human brain pre-exists, and that it functionally represents target specific motor circuits. Until today, it was unclear whether conscious motor intention exists prior to movement, or whether the brain constructs such an intention after movement initiation. Our study gives evidence that motor intentions become aware before

  1. How Thoughts Give Rise to Action - Conscious Motor Intention Increases the Excitability of Target-Specific Motor Circuits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zschorlich, Volker R.; Köhling, Rüdiger

    2013-01-01

    The present study shows evidence for conscious motor intention in motor preparation prior to movement execution. We demonstrate that conscious motor intention of directed movement, combined with minimally supra-threshold transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex, determines the direction and the force of resulting movements, whilst a lack of intention results in weak and omni-directed muscle activation. We investigated changes of consciously intended goal directed movements by analyzing amplitudes of motor-evoked potentials of the forearm muscle, flexor carpi radialis (FCR), and extensor carpi radialis (ECR), induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right motor cortex and their motor outcome. Right-handed subjects were asked to develop a strong intention to move their left wrist (flexion or extension), without any overt motor output at the wrist, prior to brain stimulation. Our analyses of hand acceleration and electromyography showed that during the strong motor intention of wrist flexion movement, it evoked motor potential responses that were significantly larger in the FCR muscle than in the ECR, whilst the opposite was true for an extension movement. The acceleration data on flexion/extension corresponded to this finding. Under no-intention conditions again, which served as a reference for motor evoked potentials, brain stimulation resulted in undirected and minimally simultaneous extension/flexion innervation and virtually no movement. These results indicate that conscious intentions govern motor function, which in turn shows that a neuronal activation representing an “intention network” in the human brain pre-exists, and that it functionally represents target specific motor circuits. Until today, it was unclear whether conscious motor intention exists prior to movement, or whether the brain constructs such an intention after movement initiation. Our study gives evidence that motor intentions become aware before any motor

  2. Abnormal gray matter volume and impulsivity in young adults with Internet gaming disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Deokjong; Namkoong, Kee; Lee, Junghan; Jung, Young-Chul

    2017-09-08

    Reduced executive control is one of the central components of model on the development and maintenance of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Among the various executive control problems, high impulsivity has consistently been associated with IGD. We performed voxel-based morphometric analysis with diffeomorphic anatomical registration by using an exponentiated Lie algebra algorithm (DARTEL) to investigate the relationship of gray matter abnormalities to impulsivity in IGD. Thirty-one young male adults whose excessive Internet gaming began in early adolescence, and 30 age-matched male healthy controls were examined. IGD subjects showed smaller gray matter volume (GMV) in brain regions implicated in executive control, such as the anterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area. The GMVs in the anterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area were negatively correlated with self-reporting scales of impulsiveness. IGD subjects also exhibited smaller GMV in lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices comprising the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the left inferior parietal lobule when compared with healthy controls. The GMVs in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex were negatively correlated with lifetime usage of Internet gaming. These findings suggest that gray matter abnormalities in areas related to executive control may contribute to high impulsivity of young adults with IGD. Furthermore, alterations in the prefrontal cortex were related with long-term excessive Internet gaming during adolescence. © 2017 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  3. Cortical Motor Circuits after Piano Training in Adulthood: Neurophysiologic Evidence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elise Houdayer

    Full Text Available The neuronal mechanisms involved in brain plasticity after skilled motor learning are not completely understood. We aimed to study the short-term effects of keyboard training in music-naive subjects on the motor/premotor cortex activity and interhemispheric interactions, using electroencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS. Twelve subjects (experimental group underwent, before and after a two week-piano training: (1 hand-motor function tests: Jamar, grip and nine-hole peg tests; (2 electroencephalography, evaluating the mu rhythm task-related desynchronization (TRD during keyboard performance; and (3 TMS, targeting bilateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB and abductor digiti minimi (ADM, to obtain duration and area of ipsilateral silent period (ISP during simultaneous tonic contraction of APB and ADM. Data were compared with 13 controls who underwent twice these measurements, in a two-week interval, without undergoing piano training. Every subject in the experimental group improved keyboard performance and left-hand nine-hole peg test scores. Pre-training, ISP durations were asymmetrical, left being longer than right. Post-training, right ISPAPB increased, leading to symmetrical ISPAPB. Mu TRD during motor performance became more focal and had a lesser amplitude than in pre-training, due to decreased activity over ventral premotor cortices. No such changes were evidenced in controls. We demonstrated that a 10-day piano-training was associated with balanced interhemispheric interactions both at rest and during motor activation. Piano training, in a short timeframe, may reshape local and inter-hemispheric motor cortical circuits.

  4. A linear motor and compact cylinder-piston driver for left ventricular bypass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, K X

    1990-01-01

    A simple, portable, reliable and noise-free pneumatic driver has been developed. It consists of a linear motor attached to a cylinder piston, in one unit. The motor coil is directly wound on the cylinder, and the permanent magnet is fixed to the piston. As a continuous voltage square wave is applied to the coil, the cylinder reciprocates on the piston periodically, producing air pressure and vacuum alternately. In conjunction with a locally made diaphragm pump, the driver was tested in vitro and in vivo. Results demonstrated that the device could drive the diaphragm pump and so support the circulation of an experimental animal. The driver weighs 12 kg. For 200 mmHg air pressure and -80 mmHg vacuum the power consumed is 30 W. Its noise is about 30 dB, less than that of an artificial valve and pump.

  5. Enhancement of motor learning by focal intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) of either the primary motor (M1) or somatosensory area (S1) in healthy human subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Platz, Thomas; Adler-Wiebe, Marija; Roschka, Sybille; Lotze, Martin

    2018-01-01

    Motor rehabilitation after brain damage relies on motor re-learning as induced by specific training. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) can alter cortical excitability and thereby has a potential to enhance subsequent training-induced learning. Knowledge about any priming effects of NIBS on motor learning in healthy subjects can help to design targeted therapeutic applications in brain-damaged subjects. To examine whether complex motor learning in healthy subjects can be enhanced by intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) to primary motor or sensory cortical areas. Eighteen young healthy subjects trained eight different arm motor tasks (arm ability training, AAT) once a day for 5 days using their left non-dominant arm. Except for day 1 (baseline), training was performed after applying an excitatory form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS) to either (I) right M1 or (II) S1, or (III) sham stimulation to the right M1. Subjects were randomly assigned to conditions I, II, or III. A principal component analysis of the motor behaviour data suggested eight independent motor abilities corresponding to the 8 trained tasks. AAT induced substantial motor learning across abilities with generalisation to a non-trained test of finger dexterity (Nine-Hole-Peg-Test, NHPT). Participants receiving iTBS (to either M1 or S1) showed better performance with the AAT tasks over the period of training compared to sham stimulation as well as a bigger improvement with the generalisation task (NHPT) for the trained left hand after training completion. Priming with an excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as iTBS of either M1 or S1 can enhance motor learning across different sensorimotor abilities.

  6. supplementary foods for weaning purposes

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DR. AMINU

    Nigeria. ABSTRACT. The paper focuses on complementary and supplementary foods for weaning purposes. While ... decision, which guides when to introduce semi-solid foods to infants. It considers the .... readiness of many healthy infants. ... foods. However, caution should be exercised .... Attitudes and practices of infants.

  7. Enhanced motor learning following task-concurrent dual transcranial direct current stimulation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophia Karok

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS of the primary motor cortex (M1 has beneficial effects on motor performance and motor learning in healthy subjects and is emerging as a promising tool for motor neurorehabilitation. Applying tDCS concurrently with a motor task has recently been found to be more effective than applying stimulation before the motor task. This study extends this finding to examine whether such task-concurrent stimulation further enhances motor learning on a dual M1 montage. METHOD: Twenty healthy, right-handed subjects received anodal tDCS to the right M1, dual tDCS (anodal current over right M1 and cathodal over left M1 and sham tDCS in a repeated-measures design. Stimulation was applied for 10 mins at 1.5 mA during an explicit motor learning task. Response times (RT and accuracy were measured at baseline, during, directly after and 15 mins after stimulation. Motor cortical excitability was recorded from both hemispheres before and after stimulation using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. RESULTS: Task-concurrent stimulation with a dual M1 montage significantly reduced RTs by 23% as early as with the onset of stimulation (p<0.01 with this effect increasing to 30% at the final measurement. Polarity-specific changes in cortical excitability were observed with MEPs significantly reduced by 12% in the left M1 and increased by 69% in the right M1. CONCLUSION: Performance improvement occurred earliest in the dual M1 condition with a stable and lasting effect. Unilateral anodal stimulation resulted only in trendwise improvement when compared to sham. Therefore, task-concurrent dual M1 stimulation is most suited for obtaining the desired neuromodulatory effects of tDCS in explicit motor learning.

  8. Action observation versus motor imagery in learning a complex motor task: a short review of literature and a kinematics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gatti, R; Tettamanti, A; Gough, P M; Riboldi, E; Marinoni, L; Buccino, G

    2013-04-12

    Both motor imagery and action observation have been shown to play a role in learning or re-learning complex motor tasks. According to a well accepted view they share a common neurophysiological basis in the mirror neuron system. Neurons within this system discharge when individuals perform a specific action and when they look at another individual performing the same or a motorically related action. In the present paper, after a short review of literature on the role of action observation and motor imagery in motor learning, we report the results of a kinematics study where we directly compared motor imagery and action observation in learning a novel complex motor task. This involved movement of the right hand and foot in the same angular direction (in-phase movement), while at the same time moving the left hand and foot in an opposite angular direction (anti-phase movement), all at a frequency of 1Hz. Motor learning was assessed through kinematics recording of wrists and ankles. The results showed that action observation is better than motor imagery as a strategy for learning a novel complex motor task, at least in the fast early phase of motor learning. We forward that these results may have important implications in educational activities, sport training and neurorehabilitation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Differential Effects of Motor Efference Copies and Proprioceptive Information on Response Evaluation Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, Ann-Kathrin; Wascher, Edmund; Beste, Christian

    2013-01-01

    It is well-kown that sensory information influences the way we execute motor responses. However, less is known about if and how sensory and motor information are integrated in the subsequent process of response evaluation. We used a modified Simon Task to investigate how these streams of information are integrated in response evaluation processes, applying an in-depth neurophysiological analysis of event-related potentials (ERPs), time-frequency decomposition and sLORETA. The results show that response evaluation processes are differentially modulated by afferent proprioceptive information and efference copies. While the influence of proprioceptive information is mediated via oscillations in different frequency bands, efference copy based information about the motor execution is specifically mediated via oscillations in the theta frequency band. Stages of visual perception and attention were not modulated by the interaction of proprioception and motor efference copies. Brain areas modulated by the interactive effects of proprioceptive and efference copy based information included the middle frontal gyrus and the supplementary motor area (SMA), suggesting that these areas integrate sensory information for the purpose of response evaluation. The results show how motor response evaluation processes are modulated by information about both the execution and the location of a response. PMID:23658624

  10. 75 FR 64717 - Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage Contingent Cost Allocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage Contingent Cost... Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (``CSC'') including its obligation to contribute to an international supplementary fund in the event of certain nuclear incidents. The NOI provided a September 27...

  11. Penetrating injury caused by the gear pedal of a motor-cycle ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This is a case of a penetrating injury to the left lower extremity caused by the gear pedal of a motor-cycle that pierced through the foot of one of the 3 passengers on a motor-cycle involved in a road traffic accident. He had no neurovascular injury but was found radiologically to have an ipsilateral tibia fracture. The object was ...

  12. Correlation between movement of the feet and motor function of children with chronic encephalopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Táubuta Gomes Souza

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: Chronic non-progressive encephalopathy (CNPE is one of the most common causes of physical deformities in childhood. It is characterized by non-progressive neuropathological abnormalities of the developing brain, which results in neuromotor impairments and changes in posture and movement. Objective: To evaluate foot deformities in children with CNPE, by measuring the joint amplitude and correlating these measures with the scores of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88, using all its five dimensions. Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study with a sample of 17 children. The data collection instruments used were manual goniometer and the Gross Motor Function Measure test (GMFM-88. Data were analyzed using the program SPSS version 18, and the Pearson correlation test as a measure of association. Results: Children with chronic encephalopathy and a reduced amplitude motion have lower capacity in motor function. Statistically significant correlation was found for the right dorsiflexion angle (p = 0.023, left dorsiflexion angle (p = 0.019, right inversion (p = 0.040, left inversion (p = 0.034 and left eversion (p = 0.018. There was no statistically significant correlation for the right eversion (p > 0.05. Conclusion: Musculoskeletal disorders associated with CNPE and foot deformities interfere negatively in motor function, compromising the functional performance of these children.

  13. You can count on the motor cortex: Finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tschentscher, Nadja; Hauk, Olaf; Fischer, Martin H.; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2012-01-01

    The embodied cognition framework suggests that neural systems for perception and action are engaged during higher cognitive processes. In an event-related fMRI study, we tested this claim for the abstract domain of numerical symbol processing: is the human cortical motor system part of the representation of numbers, and is organization of numerical knowledge influenced by individual finger counting habits? Developmental studies suggest a link between numerals and finger counting habits due to the acquisition of numerical skills through finger counting in childhood. In the present study, digits 1 to 9 and the corresponding number words were presented visually to adults with different finger counting habits, i.e. left- and right-starters who reported that they usually start counting small numbers with their left and right hand, respectively. Despite the absence of overt hand movements, the hemisphere contralateral to the hand used for counting small numbers was activated when small numbers were presented. The correspondence between finger counting habits and hemispheric motor activation is consistent with an intrinsic functional link between finger counting and number processing. PMID:22133748

  14. Etiological aspect of left-handedness in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dragović, Milan; Milenković, Sanja; Kocijancić, Dusica; Zlatko, Sram

    2013-01-01

    Lateralization of brain functions such as language and manual dominance (hand preferences and fine motor control) are most likely under genetic control. However, this does not preclude the effect of various environmental factors on functional brain lateralization. A strong association of non-right-handedness (left- and mixed-handedness) with various neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. schizophrenia, autism, Rett syndrome) implies that in some cases, non-right-handedness may be acquired rather than inherited (i.e., pathologically determined). The aim of the study was: (a) re-investigation of several known risk factors for left-handedness (age of mother and/or father, twin pregnancies, and birth order), and (b) examination of hitherto uninvestigated factors (type of birth, Apgar score, maternal smoking during pregnancy). Putative, causative environmental agents for this shift in manual distributions are explored in a sample of 1031 high school students (404 males and 627 females) from Belgrade. Both pre-existing (age of parents, twin pregnancy, and birth order) and new (Apgar score, maternal smoking, type of birth) putative agents are examined. We found that maternal smoking and low Apgar score (2-6) can significantly increase risk for left-handedness (p=0.046 and p=0.042, respectively).The remaining factors showed no significant association with left-handedness in adolescents. Our study clearly demonstrates that left-handedness may be related to maternal smoking during pregnancy and a low Apgar score on birth.

  15. May functional imaging be helpful for behavioral assessment in children? Regions of motor and associative cortico-subcortical circuits can be differentiated by laterality and rostrality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia M. August

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Background: Cortico-subcortical circuits are organized into the sensorimotor, associative and limbic loop. These neuronal preconditions play an important role regarding the understanding and treatment of behavioral problems in children. Differencing evidence argues for a lateralized organization of the sensorimotor loop and a bilateral (i.e. non-lateralized organization of the associative loop. However, a firm behavioral-neurobiological distinction of these circuits has been difficult, specifically in children. Objectives: Thus, the aim was a comprehensive functional visualization and differentiation of the sensorimotor and the associative circuit during childhood. As a new approach, laterality and rostrality features were used to distinguish between the two circuits within one single motor task. Methods: 24 healthy boys performed self-paced index finger tapping with each hand separately during functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla. Results: A contrast analysis for left against right hand movement revealed lateralized activation in typical sensorimotor regions such as primary sensorimotor cortex, caudal supplementary motor area (SMA, caudal putamen and thalamus. A conjunction analysis confirmed bilateral involvement of known associative regions including pre-SMA, rostral SMA and rostral putamen. Conclusion: A functional visualization of two distinct corticostriatal circuits is provided in childhood. Both, the sensorimotor and associative circuit may be discriminated by their laterality characteristics already in minors. Additionally, the results support the concept of a modified functional subdivision of the SMA in a rostral (associative and caudal (motor part. A further development of this approach might help to nurture behavioral assessment and neurofeedback training in child mental health.

  16. Dissociating Effects of Scrambling and Topicalization within the Left Frontal and Temporal Language Areas: An fMRI Study in Kaqchikel Maya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohta, Shinri; Koizumi, Masatoshi; Sakai, Kuniyoshi L

    2017-01-01

    Some natural languages grammatically allow different types of changing word orders, such as object scrambling and topicalization. Scrambling and topicalization are more related to syntax and semantics/phonology, respectively. Here we hypothesized that scrambling should activate the left frontal regions, while topicalization would affect the bilateral temporal regions. To examine such distinct effects in our functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we targeted the Kaqchikel Maya language, a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala. In Kaqchikel, the syntactically canonical word order is verb-object-subject (VOS), but at least three non-canonical word orders (i.e., SVO, VSO, and OVS) are also grammatically allowed. We used a sentence-picture matching task, in which the participants listened to a short Kaqchikel sentence and judged whether a picture matched the meaning of the sentence. The advantage of applying this experimental paradigm to an understudied language such as Kaqchikel is that it will allow us to validate the universality of linguistic computation in the brain. We found that the conditions with scrambled sentences [+scrambling] elicited significant activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus and lateral premotor cortex, both of which have been proposed as grammar centers, indicating the effects of syntactic loads. In contrast, the conditions without topicalization [-topicalization] resulted in significant activation in bilateral Heschl's gyrus and superior temporal gyrus, demonstrating that the syntactic and phonological processes were clearly dissociated within the language areas. Moreover, the pre-supplementary motor area and left superior/middle temporal gyri were activated under relatively demanding conditions, suggesting their supportive roles in syntactic or semantic processing. To exclude any semantic/phonological effects of the object-subject word orders, we performed direct comparisons while making the factor of topicalization constant, and

  17. Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome caused by a disconnection between the right pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus and the supplementary motor area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martino, Juan; de Lucas, Enrique Marco; Ibáñez-Plágaro, Francisco Javier; Valle-Folgueral, José Manuel; Vázquez-Barquero, Alfonso

    2012-11-01

    Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome (FCMS) is a rare type of suprabulbar palsy characterized by an automatic-voluntary dissociation of the orofacial musculature. Here, the authors report an original case of FCMS that occurred intraoperatively while resecting the pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus. This 25-year-old right-handed man with an incidentally diagnosed right frontotemporoinsular tumor underwent surgery using an asleep-awake-asleep technique with direct cortical and subcortical electrical stimulation and a transopercular approach to the insula. While resecting the anterior part of the pars opercularis the patient suffered sudden anarthria and bilateral facial weakness. He was unable to speak or show his teeth on command, but he was able to voluntarily move his upper and lower limbs. This syndrome lasted for 8 days. Postoperative diffusion tensor imaging tractography revealed that connections of the pars opercularis of the right inferior frontal gyrus with the frontal aslant tract (FAT) and arcuate fasciculus (AF) were damaged. This case supplies evidence for localizing the structural substrate of FCMS. It was possible, for the first time in the literature, to accurately correlate the occurrence of FCMS to the resection of connections between the FAT and AF, and the right pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus. The FAT has been recently described, but it may be an important connection to mediate supplementary motor area control of orofacial movement. The present case also contributes to our knowledge of complication avoidance in operculoinsular surgery. A transopercular approach to insuloopercular gliomas can generate FCMS, especially in cases of previous contralateral lesions. The prognosis is favorable, but the patient should be informed of this particular hazard, and the surgeon should anticipate the surgical strategy in case the syndrome occurs intraoperatively in an awake patient.

  18. Cortical control of gait in healthy humans: an fMRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ChiHong, Wang; YauYau, Wai; BoCheng, Kuo; Yei-Yu, Yeh; JiunJie Wang

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the cortical control of gait in healthy humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Two block-designed fMRI sessions were conducted during motor imagery of a locomotor-related task. Subjects watched a video clip that showed an actor standing and walking in an egocentric perspective. In a control session, additional fMRI images were collected when participants observed a video clip of the clutch movement of a right hand. In keeping with previous studies using SPECT and NIRS, we detected activation in many motor-related areas including supplementary motor area, bilateral precentral gyrus, left dorsal premotor cortex, and cingulate motor area. Smaller additional activations were observed in the bilateral precuneus, left thalamus, and part of right putamen. Based on these findings, we propose a novel paradigm to study the cortical control of gait in healthy humans using fMRI. Specifically, the task used in this study - involving both mirror neurons and mental imagery - provides a new feasible model to be used in functional neuroimaging studies in this area of research. (author)

  19. 17 CFR 210.12-25 - Supplementary profit and loss information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Supplementary profit and loss... § 210.12-25 Supplementary profit and loss information. Column A—Item 1 Column B—Charged to investment... resulting from transactions with affiliates shall be stated separately. 2 State separately each category of...

  20. Manipulating motor performance and memory through real-time fMRI neurofeedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharnowski, Frank; Veit, Ralf; Zopf, Regine; Studer, Petra; Bock, Simon; Diedrichsen, Jörn; Goebel, Rainer; Mathiak, Klaus; Birbaumer, Niels; Weiskopf, Nikolaus

    2015-05-01

    Task performance depends on ongoing brain activity which can be influenced by attention, arousal, or motivation. However, such modulating factors of cognitive efficiency are unspecific, can be difficult to control, and are not suitable to facilitate neural processing in a regionally specific manner. Here, we non-pharmacologically manipulated regionally specific brain activity using technically sophisticated real-time fMRI neurofeedback. This was accomplished by training participants to simultaneously control ongoing brain activity in circumscribed motor and memory-related brain areas, namely the supplementary motor area and the parahippocampal cortex. We found that learned voluntary control over these functionally distinct brain areas caused functionally specific behavioral effects, i.e. shortening of motor reaction times and specific interference with memory encoding. The neurofeedback approach goes beyond improving cognitive efficiency by unspecific psychological factors such as attention, arousal, or motivation. It allows for directly manipulating sustained activity of task-relevant brain regions in order to yield specific behavioral or cognitive effects. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Implicit sequence-specific motor learning after sub-cortical stroke is associated with increased prefrontal brain activations: An fMRI study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meehan, Sean K.; Randhawa, Bubblepreet; Wessel, Brenda; Boyd, Lara A.

    2010-01-01

    Implicit motor learning is preserved after stroke, but how the brain compensates for damage to facilitate learning is unclear. We used a random effects analysis to determine how stroke alters patterns of brain activity during implicit sequence-specific motor learning as compared to general improvements in motor control. Nine healthy participants and 9 individuals with chronic, right focal sub-cortical stroke performed a continuous joystick-based tracking task during an initial fMRI session, over 5 days of practice, and a retention test during a separate fMRI session. Sequence-specific implicit motor learning was differentiated from general improvements in motor control by comparing tracking performance on a novel, repeated tracking sequences during early practice and again at the retention test. Both groups demonstrated implicit sequence-specific motor learning at the retention test, yet substantial differences were apparent. At retention, healthy control participants demonstrated increased BOLD response in left dorsal premotor cortex (BA 6) but decreased BOLD response left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC; BA 9) during repeated sequence tracking. In contrast, at retention individuals with stroke did not show this reduction in DLPFC during repeated tracking. Instead implicit sequence-specific motor learning and general improvements in motor control were associated with increased BOLD response in the left middle frontal gyrus BA 8, regardless of sequence type after stroke. These data emphasize the potential importance of a prefrontal-based attentional network for implicit motor learning after stroke. The present study is the first to highlight the importance of the prefrontal cortex for implicit sequence-specific motor learning after stroke. PMID:20725908

  2. Contribution of the primary motor cortex to motor imagery: a subthreshold TMS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelgrims, Barbara; Michaux, Nicolas; Olivier, Etienne; Andres, Michael

    2011-09-01

    Motor imagery (MI) mostly activates the same brain regions as movement execution (ME) including the primary motor cortex (Brodmann area 4, BA4). However, whether BA4 is functionally relevant for MI remains controversial. The finding that MI tasks are impaired by BA4 virtual lesions induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) supports this view, though previous studies do not permit to exclude that BA4 is also involved in other processes such as hand recognition. Additionally, previous works largely underestimated the possible negative consequences of TMS-induced muscle twitches on MI task performance. Here we investigated the role of BA4 in MI by interfering with the function of the left or right BA4 in healthy subjects performing a MI task in which they had to make laterality judgements on rotated hand drawings. We used a subthreshold repetitive TMS protocol and monitored electromyographic activity to exclude undesirable effects of hand muscle twitches. We found that BA4 virtual lesions selectively increased reaction times in laterality judgments on hand drawings, leaving unaffected a task of equal difficulty, involving judgments on letters. Interestingly, the effects of virtual lesions of left and right BA4 on MI task performance were the same irrespective of the laterality (left/right) of hand drawings. A second experiment allowed us to rule out the possibility that BA4 lesions affect visual or semantic processing of hand drawings. Altogether, these results indicate that BA4 contribution to MI tasks is specifically related to the mental simulation process and further emphasize the functional coupling between ME and MI. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  3. Reduced NAA in motor and non-motor brain regions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rule, R R; Suhy, J; Schuff, N; Gelinas, D F; Miller, R G; Weiner, M W

    2004-09-01

    After replication of previous findings we aimed to: 1) determine if previously reported (1)H MRSI differences between ALS patients and control subjects are limited to the motor cortex; and 2) determine the longitudinal metabolic changes corresponding to varying levels of diagnostic certainty. Twenty-one patients with possible/suspected ALS, 24 patients with probable/definite ALS and 17 control subjects underwent multislice (1)H MRSI co-registered with tissue-segmented MRI to obtain concentrations of the brain metabolites N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine, and choline in the left and right motor cortex and in gray matter and white matter of non-motor regions in the brain. In the more affected hemisphere, reductions in the ratios, NAA/Cho and NAA/Cre+Cho were observed both within (12.6% and 9.5% respectively) and outside (9.2% and 7.3% respectively) the motor cortex in probable/definite ALS. However, these reductions were significantly greater within the motor cortex (PNAA/Cho and PNAA/Cre+Cho). Longitudinal changes in NAA were observed at three months within the motor cortex of both possible/suspected ALS patients (PNAA ratios are reduced in the motor cortex and outside the motor cortex in ALS, suggesting widespread neuronal injury. Longitudinal changes of NAA are not reliable, suggesting that NAA may not be a useful surrogate marker for treatment trials.

  4. The cortical activation pattern by a rehabilitation robotic hand : A functional NIRS study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pyung Hun eChang

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Clarification of the relationship between external stimuli and brain response has been an important topic in neuroscience and brain rehabilitation. In the current study, using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS, we attempted to investigate cortical activation patterns generated during execution of a rehabilitation robotic hand. Methods: Ten normal subjects were recruited for this study. Passive movements of the right fingers were performed using a rehabilitation robotic hand at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. We measured values of oxy-hemoglobin(HbO, deoxy-hemoglobin(HbR and total-hemoglobin(HbT in five regions of interest: the primary sensory-motor cortex (SM1, hand somatotopy of the contralateral SM1, supplementary motor area (SMA, premotor cortex (PMC, and prefrontal cortex (PFC. Results: HbO and HbT values indicated significant activation in the left SM1, left SMA, left PMC, and left PFC during execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand(uncorrected, pConclusions: Our results appear to indicate that execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand could induce cortical activation.

  5. Analysis on Bilateral Hindlimb Mapping in Motor Cortex of the Rat by an Intracortical Microstimulation Method

    OpenAIRE

    Seong, Han Yu; Cho, Ji Young; Choi, Byeong Sam; Min, Joong Kee; Kim, Yong Hwan; Roh, Sung Woo; Kim, Jeong Hoon; Jeon, Sang Ryong

    2014-01-01

    Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a technique that was developed to derive movement representation of the motor cortex. Although rats are now commonly used in motor mapping studies, the precise characteristics of rat motor map, including symmetry and consistency across animals, and the possibility of repeated stimulation have not yet been established. We performed bilateral hindlimb mapping of motor cortex in six Sprague-Dawley rats using ICMS. ICMS was applied to the left and the righ...

  6. Greater Activity in the Frontal Cortex on Left Curves: A Vector-Based fNIRS Study of Left and Right Curve Driving.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noriyuki Oka

    Full Text Available In the brain, the mechanisms of attention to the left and the right are known to be different. It is possible that brain activity when driving also differs with different horizontal road alignments (left or right curves, but little is known about this. We found driver brain activity to be different when driving on left and right curves, in an experiment using a large-scale driving simulator and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS.The participants were fifteen healthy adults. We created a course simulating an expressway, comprising straight line driving and gentle left and right curves, and monitored the participants under driving conditions, in which they drove at a constant speed of 100 km/h, and under non-driving conditions, in which they simply watched the screen (visual task. Changes in hemoglobin concentrations were monitored at 48 channels including the prefrontal cortex, the premotor cortex, the primary motor cortex and the parietal cortex. From orthogonal vectors of changes in deoxyhemoglobin and changes in oxyhemoglobin, we calculated changes in cerebral oxygen exchange, reflecting neural activity, and statistically compared the resulting values from the right and left curve sections.Under driving conditions, there were no sites where cerebral oxygen exchange increased significantly more during right curves than during left curves (p > 0.05, but cerebral oxygen exchange increased significantly more during left curves (p < 0.05 in the right premotor cortex, the right frontal eye field and the bilateral prefrontal cortex. Under non-driving conditions, increases were significantly greater during left curves (p < 0.05 only in the right frontal eye field.Left curve driving was thus found to require more brain activity at multiple sites, suggesting that left curve driving may require more visual attention than right curve driving. The right frontal eye field was activated under both driving and non-driving conditions.

  7. Greater Activity in the Frontal Cortex on Left Curves: A Vector-Based fNIRS Study of Left and Right Curve Driving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oka, Noriyuki; Yoshino, Kayoko; Yamamoto, Kouji; Takahashi, Hideki; Li, Shuguang; Sugimachi, Toshiyuki; Nakano, Kimihiko; Suda, Yoshihiro; Kato, Toshinori

    2015-01-01

    Objectives In the brain, the mechanisms of attention to the left and the right are known to be different. It is possible that brain activity when driving also differs with different horizontal road alignments (left or right curves), but little is known about this. We found driver brain activity to be different when driving on left and right curves, in an experiment using a large-scale driving simulator and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Research Design and Methods The participants were fifteen healthy adults. We created a course simulating an expressway, comprising straight line driving and gentle left and right curves, and monitored the participants under driving conditions, in which they drove at a constant speed of 100 km/h, and under non-driving conditions, in which they simply watched the screen (visual task). Changes in hemoglobin concentrations were monitored at 48 channels including the prefrontal cortex, the premotor cortex, the primary motor cortex and the parietal cortex. From orthogonal vectors of changes in deoxyhemoglobin and changes in oxyhemoglobin, we calculated changes in cerebral oxygen exchange, reflecting neural activity, and statistically compared the resulting values from the right and left curve sections. Results Under driving conditions, there were no sites where cerebral oxygen exchange increased significantly more during right curves than during left curves (p > 0.05), but cerebral oxygen exchange increased significantly more during left curves (p right premotor cortex, the right frontal eye field and the bilateral prefrontal cortex. Under non-driving conditions, increases were significantly greater during left curves (p right frontal eye field. Conclusions Left curve driving was thus found to require more brain activity at multiple sites, suggesting that left curve driving may require more visual attention than right curve driving. The right frontal eye field was activated under both driving and non-driving conditions

  8. A Genetic-Based Feature Selection Approach in the Identification of Left/Right Hand Motor Imagery for a Brain-Computer Interface

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Yaacoub

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Electroencephalography is a non-invasive measure of the brain electrical activity generated by millions of neurons. Feature extraction in electroencephalography analysis is a core issue that may lead to accurate brain mental state classification. This paper presents a new feature selection method that improves left/right hand movement identification of a motor imagery brain-computer interface, based on genetic algorithms and artificial neural networks used as classifiers. Raw electroencephalography signals are first preprocessed using appropriate filtering. Feature extraction is carried out afterwards, based on spectral and temporal signal components, and thus a feature vector is constructed. As various features might be inaccurate and mislead the classifier, thus degrading the overall system performance, the proposed approach identifies a subset of features from a large feature space, such that the classifier error rate is reduced. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to reduce the number of features to as low as 0.5% (i.e., the number of ignored features can reach 99.5% while improving the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision of the classifier.

  9. A Genetic-Based Feature Selection Approach in the Identification of Left/Right Hand Motor Imagery for a Brain-Computer Interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaacoub, Charles; Mhanna, Georges; Rihana, Sandy

    2017-01-23

    Electroencephalography is a non-invasive measure of the brain electrical activity generated by millions of neurons. Feature extraction in electroencephalography analysis is a core issue that may lead to accurate brain mental state classification. This paper presents a new feature selection method that improves left/right hand movement identification of a motor imagery brain-computer interface, based on genetic algorithms and artificial neural networks used as classifiers. Raw electroencephalography signals are first preprocessed using appropriate filtering. Feature extraction is carried out afterwards, based on spectral and temporal signal components, and thus a feature vector is constructed. As various features might be inaccurate and mislead the classifier, thus degrading the overall system performance, the proposed approach identifies a subset of features from a large feature space, such that the classifier error rate is reduced. Experimental results show that the proposed method is able to reduce the number of features to as low as 0.5% (i.e., the number of ignored features can reach 99.5%) while improving the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and precision of the classifier.

  10. Altered grey matter volume and cortical thickness in patients with schizo-obsessive comorbidity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Yongming; Zou, Lai-quan; Xie, Wen-lan

    2018-01-01

    healthy controls (HCs). We found that patients with SOC exhibited reduced GM volume in the left thalamus, the left inferior semi-lunar lobule of the cerebellum, the bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (medial oFC), the medial superior frontal gyrus (medial sFG), the rectus gyrus and the anterior...... cingulate cortex (aCC) compared with HCs. Patients with SOC also exhibited reduced cortical thickness in the right superior temporal gyrus (sTG), the right angular gyrus, the right supplementary motor area (SMA), the right middle cingulate cortex (mCC) and the right middle occipital gyrus (mOG) compared...

  11. Location of lesion determines motor vs. cognitive consequences in patients with cerebellar stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine J. Stoodley

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cerebellar lesions can cause motor deficits and/or the cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome (CCAS; Schmahmann's syndrome. We used voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping to test the hypothesis that the cerebellar motor syndrome results from anterior lobe damage whereas lesions in the posterolateral cerebellum produce the CCAS. Eighteen patients with isolated cerebellar stroke (13 males, 5 females; 20–66 years old were evaluated using measures of ataxia and neurocognitive ability. Patients showed a wide range of motor and cognitive performance, from normal to severely impaired; individual deficits varied according to lesion location within the cerebellum. Patients with damage to cerebellar lobules III–VI had worse ataxia scores: as predicted, the cerebellar motor syndrome resulted from lesions involving the anterior cerebellum. Poorer performance on fine motor tasks was associated primarily with strokes affecting the anterior lobe extending into lobule VI, with right-handed finger tapping and peg-placement associated with damage to the right cerebellum, and left-handed finger tapping associated with left cerebellar damage. Patients with the CCAS in the absence of cerebellar motor syndrome had damage to posterior lobe regions, with lesions leading to significantly poorer scores on language (e.g. right Crus I and II extending through IX, spatial (bilateral Crus I, Crus II, and right lobule VIII, and executive function measures (lobules VII–VIII. These data reveal clinically significant functional regions underpinning movement and cognition in the cerebellum, with a broad anterior-posterior distinction. Motor and cognitive outcomes following cerebellar damage appear to reflect the disruption of different cerebro-cerebellar motor and cognitive loops.

  12. The brain network reflecting bodily self-consciousness: a functional connectivity study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ionta, Silvio; Martuzzi, Roberto; Salomon, Roy

    2014-01-01

    Several brain regions are important for processing self-location and first-person perspective, two important aspects of bodily self-consciousness. However, the interplay between these regions has not been clarified. In addition, while self-location and first-person perspective in healthy subjects are associated with bilateral activity in temporoparietal junction (TPJ), disturbed self-location and first-person perspective result from damage of only the right TPJ. Identifying the involved brain network and understanding the role of hemispheric specializations in encoding self-location and first-person perspective, will provide important information on system-level interactions neurally mediating bodily self-consciousness. Here, we used functional connectivity and showed that right and left TPJ are bilaterally connected to supplementary motor area, ventral premotor cortex, insula, intraparietal sulcus and occipitotemporal cortex. Furthermore, the functional connectivity between right TPJ and right insula had the highest selectivity for changes in self-location and first-person perspective. Finally, functional connectivity revealed hemispheric differences showing that self-location and first-person perspective modulated the connectivity between right TPJ, right posterior insula, and right supplementary motor area, and between left TPJ and right anterior insula. The present data extend previous evidence on healthy populations and clinical observations in neurological deficits, supporting a bilateral, but right-hemispheric dominant, network for bodily self-consciousness. PMID:24396007

  13. Etiological aspect of left-handedness in adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragović Milan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Lateralization of brain functions such as language and manual dominance (hand preferences and fine motor control are most likely under genetic control. However, this does not preclude the effect of various environmental factors on functional brain lateralization. A strong association of non-right-handedness (left- and mixed-handedness with various neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. schizophrenia, autism, Rett syndrome implies that in some cases, non-right-handedness may be acquired rather than inherited (i.e., pathologically determined. Objective. The aim of the study was: (a re-investigation of several known risk factors for left-handedness (age of mother and/or father, twin pregnancies, and birth order, and (b examination of hitherto uninvestigated factors (type of birth, Apgar score, maternal smoking during pregnancy. Methods. Putative, causative environmental agents for this shift in manual distributions are explored in a sample of 1031 high school students (404 males and 627 females from Belgrade. Both pre-existing (age of parents, twin pregnancy, and birth order and new (Apgar score, maternal smoking, type of birth putative agents are examined. Results. We found that maternal smoking and low Apgar score (2-6 can significantly increase risk for left-handedness (p=0.046 and p=0.042, respectively. The remaining factors showed no significant association with left-handedness in adolescents. Conclusion. Our study clearly demonstrates that left-handedness may be related to maternal smoking during pregnancy and a low Apgar score on birth.

  14. Dynamic causal modeling revealed dysfunctional effective connectivity in both, the cortico-basal-ganglia and the cerebello-cortical motor network in writers' cramp

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inken Rothkirch

    Full Text Available Writer's cramp (WC is a focal task-specific dystonia characterized by sustained or intermittent muscle contractions while writing, particularly with the dominant hand. Since structural lesions rarely cause WC, it has been assumed that the disease might be caused by a functional maladaptation within the sensory-motor system. Therefore, our objective was to examine the differences between patients suffering from WC and a healthy control (HC group with regard to the effective connectivity that describes causal influences one brain region exerts over another within the motor network. The effective connectivity within a network including contralateral motor cortex (M1, supplementary motor area (SMA, globus pallidus (GP, putamen (PU and ipsilateral cerebellum (CB was investigated using dynamic causal modeling (DCM for fMRI. Eight connectivity models of functional motor systems were compared. Fifteen WC patients and 18 age-matched HC performed a sequential, five-element finger-tapping task with the non-dominant and non-affected left hand within a 3 T MRI-scanner as quickly and accurately as possible. The task was conducted in a fixed block design repeated 15 times and included 30 s of tapping followed by 30 s of rest. DCM identified the same model in WC and HC as superior for reflecting basal ganglia and cerebellar motor circuits of healthy subjects. The M1-PU, as well as M1-CB connectivity, was more strongly influenced by tapping in WC, but the intracortical M1-SMA connection was more facilitating in controls. Inhibiting influences originating from GP to M1 were stronger in controls compared to WC patients whereby facilitating influences the PU exerts over CB and CB exerts over M1 were not as strong. Although the same model structure explains the given data best, DCM confirms previous research demonstrating a malfunction in effective connectivity intracortically (M1-SMA and in the cortico-basal ganglia circuitry in WC. In addition, DCM analysis

  15. 7 CFR 900.310 - Supplementary instructions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Conduct of Referenda To Determine Producer Approval of Milk Marketing Orders To Be Made Effective Pursuant to Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as Amended § 900.310 Supplementary instructions. The... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing...

  16. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Protonation of the imino ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Ashish

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Protonation of the imino nitrogen deactivates the excited state of imidazolin-5-one in the solid state. ASHISH SINGH, KHALID BADI-UZ ZAMA and GURUNATH RAMANATHAN*. Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh India. 208 016.

  17. 7 CFR 1770.12 - Supplementary accounts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS FOR RUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BORROWERS Uniform System of... shall be changed to conform with the State's accounting system. (b) In addition to the accounts set forth in § 1770.15, cooperative or other nonprofit borrowers shall maintain the supplementary accounts...

  18. When action turns into words. Activation of motor-based knowledge during categorization of manipulable objects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gerlach, Christian; Law, Ian; Paulson, Olaf B

    2002-01-01

    Functional imaging studies have demonstrated that processing of man-made objects activate the left ventral premotor cortex, which is known to be concerned with motor function. This has led to the suggestion that the comprehension of man-made objects may rely on motor-based knowledge of object uti...

  19. Thermodynamic Analysis of Supplementary-Fired Gas Turbine Cycles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elmegaard, Brian; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk; Qvale, Einar Bjørn

    2003-01-01

    to result in a high marginal efficiency. The paper shows that depending on the application, this is not always the case. The interest in this cycle arises from a recent demonstration of the feasibility of a two-stage gasification process through construction of several plants. The gas from this process...... could be divided into two streams, one for primary and one for supplementary firing. A preliminary analysis of the ideal, recuperated Brayton cycle shows that for this cycle any supplementary firing will have a marginal efficiency of unity per extra unit of fuel. The same result is obtained...

  20. Asymmetric right/left encoding of emotions in the human subthalamic nucleus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renana eEitan

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Emotional processing is lateralized to the non-dominant brain hemisphere. However, there is no clear spatial model for lateralization of emotional domains in the basal ganglia. The subthalamic nucleus (STN, an input structure in the basal ganglia network, plays a major role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD. This role is probably not limited only to the motor deficits of PD, but may also span the emotional and cognitive deficits commonly observed in PD patients. Beta oscillations (12-30Hz, the electrophysiological signature of PD, are restricted to the dorsolateral part of the STN that corresponds to the anatomically defined sensorimotor STN. The more medial, more anterior and more ventral parts of the STN are thought to correspond to the anatomically defined limbic and associative territories of the STN. Surprisingly, little is known about the electrophysiological properties of the non-motor domains of the STN, nor about electrophysiological differences between right and left STNs.In this study, microelectrodes were utilized to record the STN spontaneous spiking activity and responses to vocal non-verbal emotional stimuli during deep brain stimulation (DBS surgeries in human PD patients. The oscillation properties of the STN neurons were used to map the dorsal oscillatory and the ventral non-oscillatory regions of the STN. Emotive auditory stimulation evoked activity in the ventral non-oscillatory region of the right STN. These responses were not observed in the left ventral STN or in the dorsal regions of either the right or left STN. Therefore, our results suggest that the ventral non-oscillatory regions are asymmetrically associated with non-motor functions, with the right ventral STN associated with emotional processing. These results suggest that DBS of the right ventral STN may be associated with beneficial or adverse emotional effects observed in PD patients and may relieve mental symptoms in other neurological and

  1. Hyperactive external awareness against hypoactive internal awareness in disorders of consciousness using resting-state functional MRI: highlighting the involvement of visuo-motor modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Jiang-Hong; Yang, Yi; Zhang, Yi; Qiu, Si-You; Zhou, Zhen-Yu; Dang, Yuan-Yuan; Dai, Yi-Wu; Liu, Yi-Jun; Xu, Ru-Xiang

    2014-08-01

    Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) has emerged as a valuable tool to characterize the complex states encompassing disorders of consciousness (DOC). Awareness appears to comprise two coexistent, anticorrelated components named the external and internal awareness networks. The present study hypothesizes that DOC interrupts the balance between the internal and external awareness networks. To gain more understanding of this phenomenon, the present study analyzed resting-state fMRI data from 12 patients with DOC versus 12 healthy age-matched controls. The data were explored using independent component analysis and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analysis. The results indicated that DOC deactivated midline areas associated with internal awareness. In addition, external awareness was strengthened in DOC because of increased activation in the insula, lingual gyrus, paracentral and supplementary motor area. The activity patterns suggested strengthened external awareness against weakened internal awareness in DOC. In particular, increased activity found in the insula, lingual gyrus, paracentral and supplementary motor area of patients with DOC implied possible involvement of augmented visuo-motor modulation in these patients. DOC is probably related to hyperactive external awareness opposing hypoactive internal awareness. This unique pattern of brain activity may potentially be a prognostic marker for DOC. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. The cortical activation pattern by a rehabilitation robotic hand: a functional NIRS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Pyung-Hun; Lee, Seung-Hee; Gu, Gwang Min; Lee, Seung-Hyun; Jin, Sang-Hyun; Yeo, Sang Seok; Seo, Jeong Pyo; Jang, Sung Ho

    2014-01-01

    Clarification of the relationship between external stimuli and brain response has been an important topic in neuroscience and brain rehabilitation. In the current study, using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we attempted to investigate cortical activation patterns generated during execution of a rehabilitation robotic hand. Ten normal subjects were recruited for this study. Passive movements of the right fingers were performed using a rehabilitation robotic hand at a frequency of 0.5 Hz. We measured values of oxy-hemoglobin (HbO), deoxy-hemoglobin (HbR) and total-hemoglobin (HbT) in five regions of interest: the primary sensory-motor cortex (SM1), hand somatotopy of the contralateral SM1, supplementary motor area (SMA), premotor cortex (PMC), and prefrontal cortex (PFC). HbO and HbT values indicated significant activation in the left SM1, left SMA, left PMC, and left PFC during execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand (uncorrected, p < 0.01). By contrast, HbR value indicated significant activation only in the hand somatotopic area of the left SM1 (uncorrected, p < 0.01). Our results appear to indicate that execution of the rehabilitation robotic hand could induce cortical activation.

  3. A novel technique for phase synchrony measurement from the complex motor imaginary potential of combined body and limb action

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Zhong-xing; Wan, Bai-kun; Ming, Dong; Qi, Hong-zhi

    2010-08-01

    In this study, we proposed and evaluated the use of the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) technique combined with phase synchronization analysis to investigate the human brain synchrony of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and primary motor area (M1) during complex motor imagination of combined body and limb action. We separated the EEG data of the SMA and M1 into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) using the EMD method and determined the characteristic IMFs by power spectral density (PSD) analysis. Thereafter, the instantaneous phases of the characteristic IMFs were obtained by the Hilbert transformation, and the single-trial phase-locking value (PLV) features for brain synchrony measurement between the SMA and M1 were investigated separately. The classification performance suggests that the proposed approach is effective for phase synchronization analysis and is promising for the application of a brain-computer interface in motor nerve reconstruction of the lower limbs.

  4. Long-term progressive motor skill training enhances corticospinal excitability for the ipsilateral hemisphere and motor performance of the untrained hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Grey, Michael James

    2017-01-01

    It is well-established that unilateral motor practice can lead to increased performance in the opposite non-trained hand. Here, we test the hypothesis that progressively increasing task difficulty during long-term skill training with the dominant right hand increase performance and corticomotor...... and accuracy to individual proficiency promotes motor skill learning and drives the iM1-CSE resulting in enhanced performance of the non-trained hand. The results underline the importance of increasing task difficulty progressively and individually in skill learning and rehabilitation training. This article...... excitability of the left non-trained hand. Subjects practiced a visuomotor tracking task engaging right digit V for 6 weeks with either progressively increasing task difficulty (PT) or no progression (NPT). Corticospinal excitability(CSE) was evaluated from the resting motor threshold(rMT) and recruitment...

  5. Long-term progressive motor skill training enhances corticospinal excitability for the ipsilateral hemisphere and motor performance of the untrained hand

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Lasse; Larsen, Malte Nejst; Grey, Michael James

    2017-01-01

    It is well established that unilateral motor practice can lead to increased performance in the opposite non-trained hand. Here, we test the hypothesis that progressively increasing task difficulty during long-term skill training with the dominant right hand increase performance and corticomotor...... demands for timing and accuracy to individual proficiency promotes motor skill learning and drives the iM1-CSE resulting in enhanced performance of the non-trained hand. The results underline the importance of increasing task difficulty progressively and individually in skill learning and rehabilitation...... excitability of the left non-trained hand. Subjects practiced a visuomotor tracking task engaging right digit V for 6 weeks with either progressively increasing task difficulty (PT) or no progression (NPT). Corticospinal excitability (CSE) was evaluated from the resting motor threshold (rMT) and recruitment...

  6. Positron computed tomography studies of cerebral metabolic responses to complex motor tasks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phelps, M.E.; Mazziotta, J.C.

    1984-01-01

    Human motor system organization was explored in 8 right-handed male subjects using /sup 18/F-fluorodeoxyglucose and positron computed tomography to measure cerebral glucose metabolism. Five subjects had triple studies (eyes closed) including: control (hold pen in right hand without moving), normal size writing (subject repeatedly writes name) and large (10-15 X normal) name writing. In these studies normal and large size writing had a similar distribution of metabolic responses when compared to control studies. Activations (percent change from control) were in the range of 12-20% and occurred in the striatum bilaterally > contralateral Rolandic cortex > contralateral thalamus. No significant activations were observed in the ipsilateral thalamus, Rolandic cortex or cerebellum (supplementary motor cortex was not examined). The magnitude of the metabolic response in the striatum was greater with the large versus normal sized writing. This differential response may be due to an increased number and topographic distribution of neurons responding with the same average activity between tasks or an increase in the functional activity of the same neuronal population between the two tasks (present spatial resolution inadequate to differentiate). When subjects (N=3) performed novel sequential finger movements, the maximal metabolic response was in the contralateral Rolandic cortex > striatum. Such studies provide a means of exploring human motor system organization, motor learning and provide a basis for examining patients with motor system disorders

  7. Reduced topological efficiency in cortical-basal Ganglia motor network of Parkinson's disease: a resting state fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Luqing; Zhang, Jiuquan; Long, Zhiliang; Wu, Guo-Rong; Hu, Xiaofei; Zhang, Yanling; Wang, Jian

    2014-01-01

    Parkinson's disease (PD) is mainly characterized by dopamine depletion of the cortico-basal ganglia (CBG) motor circuit. Given that dopamine dysfunction could affect functional brain network efficiency, the present study utilized resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) and graph theoretical approach to investigate the topological efficiency changes of the CBG motor network in patients with PD during a relatively hypodopaminergic state (12 hours after a last dose of dopamimetic treatment). We found that PD compared with controls had remarkable decreased efficiency in the CBG motor network, with the most pronounced changes observed in rostral supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), caudal SMA (SMA-proper), primary motor cortex (M1), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), thalamus (THA), globus pallidus (GP), and putamen (PUT). Furthermore, reduced efficiency in pre-SMA, M1, THA and GP was significantly correlated with Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor scores in PD patients. Together, our results demonstrate that individuals with PD appear to be less effective at information transfer within the CBG motor pathway, which provides a novel perspective on neurobiological explanation for the motor symptoms in patients. These findings are in line with the pathophysiology of PD, suggesting that network efficiency metrics may be used to identify and track the pathology of PD.

  8. 18 CFR 706.405 - Supplementary statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... employee shall at all times avoid acquiring a financial interest that could result, or taking an action... EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT Statements of Employment and Financial Interests § 706.405... employment and financial interests shall be reported in a supplementary statement, in the format prescribed...

  9. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Temperature effects on the ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Windows User

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Temperature effects on the hydrophobic force between two graphene-like surfaces in liquid water. TUHIN SAMANTA and BIMAN BAGCHI. Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560. 012, India. Table of Contents. Figure S1. Page 2.

  10. A positive association between active lifestyle and hemispheric lateralization for motor control and learning in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jinsung; D'Amato, Arthur; Bambrough, Jennifer; Swartz, Ann M; Miller, Nora E

    2016-11-01

    Physical activity (PA) is well known to have general health benefits for older adults, but it is unclear whether it can also positively affect brain function involved in motor control and learning. We have previously shown that interlimb transfer of visuomotor adaptation occurs asymmetrically in young adults, while that occurs symmetrically in older adults, which suggests that the lateralized function of each hemisphere during motor tasks is diminished with aging. Here, we investigated the association between the level of PA and hemispheric motor lateralization by comparing the pattern of interlimb transfer following visuomotor adaptation between physically active and inactive older adults. Subjects were divided into two groups based on their PA level (active, inactive). They were further divided into two groups, such that a half of the subjects in each group adapted to a 30° rotation during targeted reaching movements with the left arm first, then with the right arm; and the other half with the right arm first, then with the left arm. Results indicated asymmetrical transfer (from left to right only) in the active subjects, whereas symmetrical transfer (from left to right, and vice versa) was observed in the inactive subjects. These findings suggest that older adults who maintain active lifestyle have a central nervous system that is more intact in terms of its lateralized motor function as compared with those who are inactive. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Effect of supplementary feed and stocking rate on the production of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was conducted to determine the effect of two different levels of supplementary feed and two different stocking rates on the production of grazing ostriches. One hundred and seventy ostriches were randomly allocated to four groups and kept on irrigated lucerne pasture with or without supplementary feed from ...

  12. Trends in the Use of Supplementary Materials in Environmental Science Journals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenyon, Jeremy; Sprague, Nancy R.

    2014-01-01

    Our research examined the use of supplementary materials in six environmental science disciplines: atmospheric sciences, biology, fisheries, forestry, geology, and plant sciences. Ten key journals were selected from each of these disciplines and the number of supplementary materials, such as data files or videos, in each issue was noted over a…

  13. 20 CFR 255.9 - Individual enrolled under supplementary medical insurance plan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... supplementary medical insurance premiums will be applied toward payment of such premiums, and the balance of the... medical insurance plan. 255.9 Section 255.9 Employees' Benefits RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD REGULATIONS... supplementary medical insurance plan. Where recovery of the overpayment is by setoff as provided for in § 255.6...

  14. Efficient foot motor control by Neymar’s brain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eiichi eNaito

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available How very long-term (over many years motor skill training shapes internal motor representation remains poorly understood. We provide valuable evidence that the football brain of Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (the Brasilian footballer recruits very limited neural resources in the motor-cortical foot regions during foot movements. We scanned his brain activity with a 3-tesla functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI while he rotated his right ankle at 1Hz. We also scanned brain activity when three other age-controlled professional footballers, two top-athlete swimmers and one amateur footballer performed the identical task. A comparison was made between Neymar’s brain activity with that obtained from the others. We found activations in the left medial-wall foot motor regions during the foot movements consistently across all participants. However, the size and intensity of medial-wall activity was smaller in the four professional footballers than in the three other participants, despite no difference in amount of foot movement. Surprisingly, the reduced recruitment of medial-wall foot motor regions became apparent in Neymar. His medial-wall activity was smallest among all participants with absolutely no difference in amount of foot movement. Neymar may efficiently control given foot movements probably by largely conserving motor-cortical neural resources. We discuss this possibility in terms of over-years motor skill training effect, use-dependent plasticity, and efficient motor control.

  15. Forgetting motor programmes: retrieval dynamics in procedural memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tempel, Tobias; Frings, Christian

    2014-01-01

    When motor sequences are stored in memory in a categorised manner, selective retrieval of some sequences can induce forgetting of the non-retrieved sequences. We show that such retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) occurs not only in cued recall but also in a test assessing memory indirectly by providing novel test cues without involving recall of items. Participants learned several sequential finger movements (SFMs), each consisting of the movement of two fingers of either the left or the right hand. Subsequently, they performed retrieval practice on half of the sequences of one hand. A final task then required participants to enter letter dyads. A subset of these dyads corresponded to the previously learned sequences. RIF was present in the response times during the entering of the dyads. The finding of RIF in the slowed-down execution of motor programmes overlapping with initially trained motor sequences suggests that inhibition resolved interference between procedural representations of the acquired motor sequences of one hand during retrieval practice.

  16. Supplementary data: Comparative studies on sequence ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    Page 1. Supplementary data: Comparative studies on sequence characteristics around translation initiation codon in four eukaryotes. Qingpo Liu and Qingzhong Xue. J. Genet. 84, 317–322. Table 1. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients of 39 base positions around the AUG codon in the four eukaryotic species studied.

  17. Convention on supplementary compensation for nuclear damage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-07-22

    The document reproduces the text of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage which was adopted on 12 September 1997 by a Diplomatic Conference held between 8-12 September 1997 in Vienna

  18. Convention on supplementary compensation for nuclear damage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The document reproduces the text of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage which was adopted on 12 September 1997 by a Diplomatic Conference held between 8-12 September 1997 in Vienna

  19. Effects of combining 2 weeks of passive sensory stimulation with active hand motor training in healthy adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aija Marie Ladda

    Full Text Available The gold standard to acquire motor skills is through intensive training and practicing. Recent studies have demonstrated that behavioral gains can also be acquired by mere exposure to repetitive sensory stimulation to drive the plasticity processes. Single application of repetitive electric stimulation (rES of the fingers has been shown to improve tactile perception in young adults as well as sensorimotor performance in healthy elderly individuals. The combination of repetitive motor training with a preceding rES has not been reported yet. In addition, the impact of such a training on somatosensory tactile and spatial sensitivity as well as on somatosensory cortical activation remains elusive. Therefore, we tested 15 right-handed participants who underwent repetitive electric stimulation of all finger tips of the left hand for 20 minutes prior to one hour of motor training of the left hand over the period of two weeks. Overall, participants substantially improved the motor performance of the left trained hand by 34%, but also showed a relevant transfer to the untrained right hand by 24%. Baseline ipsilateral activation fMRI-magnitude in BA 1 to sensory index finger stimulation predicted training outcome for somatosensory guided movements: those who showed higher ipsilateral activation were those who did profit less from training. Improvement of spatial tactile discrimination was positively associated with gains in pinch grip velocity. Overall, a combination of priming rES and repetitive motor training is capable to induce motor and somatosensory performance increase and representation changes in BA1 in healthy young subjects.

  20. Motor features in posterior cortical atrophy and their imaging correlates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Natalie S; Shakespeare, Timothy J; Lehmann, Manja; Keihaninejad, Shiva; Nicholas, Jennifer M; Leung, Kelvin K; Fox, Nick C; Crutch, Sebastian J

    2014-12-01

    Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by impaired higher visual processing skills; however, motor features more commonly associated with corticobasal syndrome may also occur. We investigated the frequency and clinical characteristics of motor features in 44 PCA patients and, with 30 controls, conducted voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness, and subcortical volumetric analyses of their magnetic resonance imaging. Prominent limb rigidity was used to define a PCA-motor subgroup. A total of 30% (13) had PCA-motor; all demonstrating asymmetrical left upper limb rigidity. Limb apraxia was more frequent and asymmetrical in PCA-motor, as was myoclonus. Tremor and alien limb phenomena only occurred in this subgroup. The subgroups did not differ in neuropsychological test performance or apolipoprotein E4 allele frequency. Greater asymmetry of atrophy occurred in PCA-motor, particularly involving right frontoparietal and peri-rolandic cortices, putamen, and thalamus. The 9 patients (including 4 PCA-motor) with pathology or cerebrospinal fluid all showed evidence of Alzheimer's disease. Our data suggest that PCA patients with motor features have greater atrophy of contralateral sensorimotor areas but are still likely to have underlying Alzheimer's disease. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Motor features in posterior cortical atrophy and their imaging correlates☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryan, Natalie S.; Shakespeare, Timothy J.; Lehmann, Manja; Keihaninejad, Shiva; Nicholas, Jennifer M.; Leung, Kelvin K.; Fox, Nick C.; Crutch, Sebastian J.

    2014-01-01

    Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome characterized by impaired higher visual processing skills; however, motor features more commonly associated with corticobasal syndrome may also occur. We investigated the frequency and clinical characteristics of motor features in 44 PCA patients and, with 30 controls, conducted voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness, and subcortical volumetric analyses of their magnetic resonance imaging. Prominent limb rigidity was used to define a PCA-motor subgroup. A total of 30% (13) had PCA-motor; all demonstrating asymmetrical left upper limb rigidity. Limb apraxia was more frequent and asymmetrical in PCA-motor, as was myoclonus. Tremor and alien limb phenomena only occurred in this subgroup. The subgroups did not differ in neuropsychological test performance or apolipoprotein E4 allele frequency. Greater asymmetry of atrophy occurred in PCA-motor, particularly involving right frontoparietal and peri-rolandic cortices, putamen, and thalamus. The 9 patients (including 4 PCA-motor) with pathology or cerebrospinal fluid all showed evidence of Alzheimer's disease. Our data suggest that PCA patients with motor features have greater atrophy of contralateral sensorimotor areas but are still likely to have underlying Alzheimer's disease. PMID:25086839

  2. Upper motor neuron predominant degeneration with frontal and temporal lobe atrophy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konagaya, M; Sakai, M; Matsuoka, Y; Konagaya, Y; Hashizume, Y

    1998-11-01

    The autopsy findings of a 78-year-old man mimicking primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) are reported. He showed slowly progressive spasticity, pseudobulbar palsy and character change, and died 32 months after the onset of symptoms. Autopsy revealed severe atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes, remarkable neuronal loss and gliosis in the precentral gyrus, left temporal lobe pole and amygdala, mild degeneration of the Ammon's horn, degeneration of the corticospinal tract, and very mild involvement of the lower motor neurons. The anterior horn cells only occasionally demonstrated Bunina body by cystatin-C staining, and skein-like inclusions by ubiquitin staining. This is a peculiar case with concomitant involvement in the motor cortex and temporal lobe in motor neuron disease predominantly affecting the upper motor neuron.

  3. Right vs. left sensorimotor cortex suction-ablation in the rat: no difference in beam-walking recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, L B

    1995-03-13

    The ability of rats to traverse a narrow elevated beam has been used to quantitate recovery of hindlimb motor function after unilateral injury to the sensorimotor cortex. We tested the hypothesis that the rate of spontaneous beam-walking recovery varies with the side of the cortex lesion. Groups of rats that were trained at the beam-walking task underwent suction-ablation of either the right or left hindlimb sensorimotor cortex. There was no difference in hindlimb motor function between the groups on the first post-operative beam-waking trial carried out the day after cortex ablation and no difference between the groups in overall recovery rates over the next two weeks. Subsequent analyses of lesion surface parameters showed no differences in lesion size or extent. Regardless of the side of the lesion, there were also no differences between the right and left hemispheres in norepinephrine content of the lesioned or contralateral cortex. We conclude that the side of sensorimotor cortex ablation injury does not differentially affect the rate of spontaneous motor recovery as measured with the beam-walking task.

  4. Spillover effects of supplementary on basic health insurance: Evidence from the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A.-F. Roos (Anne-Fleur); F.T. Schut (Erik)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractLike many other countries, the Netherlands has a health insurance system that combines mandatory basic insurance with voluntary supplementary insurance. Both types of insurance are founded on different principles. Since basic and supplementary insurance are sold by the same health

  5. 29 CFR 1960.18 - Supplementary standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... agency employees for which there exists no appropriate OSHA standards. In order to avoid any possible... adopted inconsistent with OSHA standards, or inconsistent with OSHA enforcement practices under section 5... of this finding. In such a case, the supplementary standard shall not be adopted, but the agency will...

  6. Weak but Critical Links between Primary Somatosensory Centers and Motor Cortex during Movement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengxu Wei

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Motor performance is improved by stimulation of the agonist muscle during movement. However, related brain mechanisms remain unknown. In this work, we perform a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study in 21 healthy subjects under three different conditions: (1 movement of right ankle alone; (2 movement and simultaneous stimulation of the agonist muscle; or (3 movement and simultaneous stimulation of a control area. We constructed weighted brain networks for each condition by using functional connectivity. Network features were analyzed using graph theoretical approaches. We found that: (1 the second condition evokes the strongest and most widespread brain activations (5147 vs. 4419 and 2320 activated voxels; and (2 this condition also induces a unique network layout and changes hubs and the modular structure of the brain motor network by activating the most “silent” links between primary somatosensory centers and the motor cortex, particularly weak links from the thalamus to the left primary motor cortex (M1. Significant statistical differences were found when the strength values of the right cerebellum (P < 0.001 or the left thalamus (P = 0.006 were compared among the three conditions. Over the years, studies reported a small number of projections from the thalamus to the motor cortex. This is the first work to present functions of these pathways. These findings reveal mechanisms for enhancing motor function with somatosensory stimulation, and suggest that network function cannot be thoroughly understood when weak ties are disregarded.

  7. The Specificity of Action Knowledge in Sensory and Motor Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine E Watson

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Neuroimaging studies have found that sensorimotor systems are engaged when participants observe actions or comprehend action language. However, most of these studies have asked the binary question of whether action concepts are embodied or not, rather than whether sensory and motor areas of the brain contain graded amounts of information during putative action simulations. To address this question, we used repetition suppression (RS functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine if functionally-localized motor movement and visual motion regions-of-interest (ROI and two anatomical ROIs (inferior frontal gyrus, IFG; left posterior middle temporal gyrus were sensitive to changes in the exemplar (e.g., two different people kicking or representational format (e.g., photograph or schematic drawing of someone kicking within pairs of action images. We also investigated whether concrete versus more symbolic depictions of actions (i.e., photographs versus schematic drawings yielded different patterns of activation throughout the brain. We found that during a conceptual task, sensory and motor systems represent actions at different levels of specificity. While the visual motion ROI did not exhibit RS to different exemplars of the same action or to the same action depicted by different formats, the motor movement ROI did. These effects are consistent with person-specific action simulations: if the motor system is recruited for action understanding, it does so by activating one’s own motor program for an action. We also observed significant repetition enhancement within the IFG ROI to different exemplars or formats of the same action, a result that may indicate additional cognitive processing on these trials. Finally, we found that the recruitment of posterior brain regions by action concepts depends on the format of the input: left lateral occipital cortex and right supramarginal gyrus responded more strongly to symbolic depictions of actions than

  8. Functional connectivity and laterality of the motor and sensory components in the volitional swallowing network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lowell, Soren Y; Reynolds, Richard C; Chen, Gang; Horwitz, Barry; Ludlow, Christy L

    2012-05-01

    Functional neuroimaging has shown that multiple brain regions are active during volitional swallowing. Little is known, however, about which regions integrate motor execution and sensory feedback in the swallowing system. Although unilateral brain lesions in either hemisphere can produce swallowing deficits, some functional neuroimaging studies indicate that the left hemisphere has greater activation in certain sensory and motor-related swallowing regions. In this study, correlation coefficients were computed for five seed regions during volitional saliva swallowing to determine the functional relationships of these regions with the rest of the brain: the anterior and posterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus (BA44), primary sensory cortex (S1), and primary motor cortex (M1). A laterality index (LI) was derived that accounts for relative differences in total, positive connected voxels for the left/right hemisphere seeds. Clusters of significantly connected voxels were greater from the anterior and posterior insula than from the other three seed regions. Interactions of the insula with other brain regions were greater on the left than on the right during volitional swallowing. Group means showed laterality in the anterior insula (LI = 0.25) and the posterior insula (LI = 0.33). BA44 showed a lesser degree of difference in left versus right hemisphere interactions (LI = 0.12) while S1 did not show lateralization (LI = 0.02) and M1 showed some predominance of interactions in the right hemisphere (LI = -0.19). The greater connectivity from the left hemisphere insula to brain regions within and across hemispheres suggests that the insula is a primary integrative region for volitional swallowing in humans.

  9. Experiences from polio supplementary immunization activities in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-05-31

    May 31, 2014 ... lessons from supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) conducted in the State that will be useful to ... Poliovirus invades the central nervous system and causes ..... The vaccine wastage rate of 6.6% was slightly higher.

  10. Cerebral somatic pain modulation during autogenic training in fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naglatzki, R P; Schlamann, M; Gasser, T; Ladd, M E; Sure, U; Forsting, M; Gizewski, E R

    2012-10-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies are increasingly employed in different conscious states. Autogenic training (AT) is a common clinically used relaxation method. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cerebral modulation of pain activity patterns due to AT and to correlate the effects to the degree of experience with AT and strength of stimuli. Thirteen volunteers familiar with AT were studied with fMRI during painful electrical stimulation in a block design alternating between resting state and electrical stimulation, both without AT and while employing the same paradigm when utilizing their AT abilities. The subjective rating of painful stimulation and success in modulation during AT was assessed. During painful electrical stimulation without AT, fMRI revealed activation of midcingulate, right secondary sensory, right supplementary motor, and insular cortices, the right thalamus and left caudate nucleus. In contrast, utilizing AT only activation of left insular and supplementary motor cortices was revealed. The paired t-test revealed pain-related activation in the midcingulate, posterior cingulate and left anterior insular cortices for the condition without AT, and activation in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex under AT. Activation of the posterior cingulate cortex and thalamus correlated with the amplitude of electrical stimulation. This study revealed an effect on cerebral pain processing while performing AT. This might represent the cerebral correlate of different painful stimulus processing by subjects who are trained in performing relaxation techniques. However, due to the absence of a control group, further studies are needed to confirm this theory. © 2012 European Federation of International Association for the Study of Pain Chapters.

  11. Cerebral blood flow and metabolism in a patient with motor aphasia by positron emission tomography using 15O2 and C15O2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitamura, Shin; Terashi, Akiro; Kato, Toshiaki; Soeda, Toshiyuki; Iio, Masaaki.

    1986-01-01

    Cerebral blood flow and metabolism, in a patient with motor aphasia due to cerebral infarction of the left basal ganglionic region, were studied by positron emission tomography (PET) using 15 O 2 and C 15 O 2 . A 62-year-old woman, right handed, was admitted with a complaint of right hemiparesis. Motor aphasia developed on the following day of hospitalization. CT scan showed low density area in the left caduate nucleus, putamen, internal capsule, and centrum semiovale, but the cortex was intact on the images of CT scan. PET studies were performed 22 days and 92 days after onset of stroke. The first PET study revealed marked reduction of CBF (cerebral blood flow) in the left cortex and subcortex, but CMRO 2 (cerebral oxygen consumption) was relatively preserved and OEF (oxygen extraction fraction) increased. The second PET study showed recovery of CBF in the left cortex and increase of OEF vanished. CMRO 2 decreased in the left posterior frontal region and subcortex. Motor aphasia still continued at the time of the second PET study. Therefore, the left posterior frontal cortex lesion as well as the left subcortex lesion might be related to the occurrence of motor aphasia in this case. The thresholds of CBF and CMRO 2 for developing clinical symptoms are higher than those for developing low density on the images of CT scan. These results suggest the importance of the study of cerebral blood flow and metabolism in the study of the responsible lesion for aphasia. (author)

  12. Severity and Co-occurrence of Oral and Verbal Apraxias in Left Brain Damaged Adults

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fariba Yadegari

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Oral and verbal apraxias represent motor programming deficits of nonverbal and verbal movements respectively. Studying their properties may shed light on speech motor control processes. This study was focused on identifying cases with oral or verbal apraxia, their co–occurrences and severities. Materials & Methods: In this non-experimental study, 55 left adult subjects with left brain lesion including 22 women and 33 men with age range of 23 to 84 years, were examined and videotaped using oral apraxia and verbal apraxia tasks. Three speech and language pathologists independently scored apraxia severities. Data were analyzed by independent t test, Pearson, Phi and Contingency coefficients using SPSS 12. Results: Mean score of oral and verbal apraxias in patients with and without oral and verbal apraxias were significantly different (P<0.001. Forty- two patients had simultaneous oral and verbal apraxias, with significant correlation between their oral and verbal apraxia scores (r=0.75, P<0.001. Six patients showed no oral or verbal apraxia and 7 had just one type of apraxia. Comparison of co-occurrence of two disorders (Phi=0.59 and different oral and verbal intensities (C=0.68 were relatively high (P<0.001. Conclusion: The present research revealed co-occurrence of oral and verbal apraxias to a great extent. It appears that speech motor control is influenced by a more general verbal and nonverbal motor control.

  13. Short-Term Limb Immobilization Affects Cognitive Motor Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toussaint, Lucette; Meugnot, Aurore

    2013-01-01

    We examined the effects of a brief period of limb immobilization on the cognitive level of action control. A splint placed on the participants' left hand was used as a means of immobilization. We used a hand mental rotation task to investigate the immobilization-induced effects on motor imagery performance (Experiments 1 and 2) and a number mental…

  14. Cortical thickness in de novo patients with Parkinson disease and mild cognitive impairment with consideration of clinical phenotype and motor laterality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danti, S; Toschi, N; Diciotti, S; Tessa, C; Poletti, M; Del Dotto, P; Lucetti, C

    2015-12-01

    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with motor and non-motor symptoms, including cognitive deficits. Several magnetic resonance imaging approaches have been applied to investigate brain atrophy in PD. The aim of this study was to detect early structural cortical and subcortical changes in de novo PD whilst distinguishing cognitive status, clinical phenotype and motor laterality. Eighteen de novo PD with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), 18 de novo PD without MCI (PD-NC) and 18 healthy control subjects were evaluated. In the PD-MCI group, nine were tremor dominant and nine were postural instability gait disorder (PIGD) phenotype; 11 had right-sided symptom dominance and seven had left-sided symptom dominance. FreeSurfer was used to measure cortical thickness/folding, subcortical structures and to study group differences as well as the association with clinical and neuropsychological data. Parkinson's disease with MCI showed regional thinning in the right frontal, right middle temporal areas and left insula compared to PD-NC. A reduction of the volume of the left and right thalamus and left hippocampus was found in PD-MCI compared to PD-NC. PD-MCI PIGD showed regional thinning in the right inferior parietal area compared to healthy controls. A decreased volume of the left thalamus was reported in PD-MCI with right-sided symptom dominance compared to PD-NC and PD-MCI with left-sided symptom dominance. When MCI was present, PD patients showed a fronto-temporo-parietal pattern of cortical thinning. This cortical pattern does not appear to be influenced by motor laterality, although one-sided symptom dominance may contribute to volumetric reduction of specific subcortical structures. © 2015 EAN.

  15. Perceived helplessness is associated with individual differences in the central motor output system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salomons, Tim V; Moayedi, Massieh; Weissman-Fogel, Irit; Goldberg, Michael B; Freeman, Bruce V; Tenenbaum, Howard C; Davis, Karen D

    2012-05-01

    Learned helplessness is a maladaptive response to uncontrollable stress characterized by impaired motor escape responses, reduced motivation and learning deficits. There are important individual differences in the likelihood of becoming helpless following exposure to uncontrollable stress but little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying these individual differences. Here we used structural MRI to measure gray and white matter in individuals with chronic pain, a population at high risk for helplessness due to prolonged exposure to a poorly controlled stressor (pain). Given that self-reported helplessness is predictive of treatment outcomes in chronic pain, understanding such differences might provide valuable clinical insight. We found that the magnitude of self-reported helplessness correlated with cortical thickness in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and midcingulate cortex, regions implicated in cognitive aspects of motor behavior. We then examined the white matter connectivity of these regions and found that fractional anisotropy of connected white matter tracts along the corticospinal tract was associated with helplessness and mediated the relationship between SMA cortical thickness and helplessness. These data provide novel evidence that links individual differences in the motor output pathway with perceived helplessness over a chronic and poorly controlled stressor. © 2012 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. Relative roles of grey squirrels, supplementary feeding, and habitat in shaping urban bird assemblages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonnington, Colin; Gaston, Kevin J; Evans, Karl L

    2014-01-01

    Non-native species are frequently considered to influence urban assemblages. The grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis is one such species that is widespread in the UK and is starting to spread across Europe; it predates birds' nests and can compete with birds for supplementary food. Using distance sampling across the urbanisation intensity gradient in Sheffield (UK) we test whether urban grey squirrels influence avian species richness and density through nest predation and competition for supplementary food sources. We also assess how urban bird assemblages respond to supplementary feeding. We find that grey squirrels slightly reduced the abundance of breeding bird species most sensitive to squirrel nest predation by reducing the beneficial impact of woodland cover. There was no evidence that grey squirrel presence altered relationships between supplementary feeding and avian assemblage structure. This may be because, somewhat surprisingly, supplementary feeding was not associated with the richness or density of wintering bird assemblages. These associations were positive during the summer, supporting advocacy to feed birds during the breeding season and not just winter, but explanatory capacity was limited. The amount of green space and its quality, assessed as canopy cover, had a stronger influence on avian species richness and population size than the presence of grey squirrels and supplementary feeding stations. Urban bird populations are thus more likely to benefit from investment in improving the availability of high quality habitats than controlling squirrel populations or increased investment in supplementary feeding.

  17. Relative roles of grey squirrels, supplementary feeding, and habitat in shaping urban bird assemblages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin Bonnington

    Full Text Available Non-native species are frequently considered to influence urban assemblages. The grey squirrel Sciurus carolinensis is one such species that is widespread in the UK and is starting to spread across Europe; it predates birds' nests and can compete with birds for supplementary food. Using distance sampling across the urbanisation intensity gradient in Sheffield (UK we test whether urban grey squirrels influence avian species richness and density through nest predation and competition for supplementary food sources. We also assess how urban bird assemblages respond to supplementary feeding. We find that grey squirrels slightly reduced the abundance of breeding bird species most sensitive to squirrel nest predation by reducing the beneficial impact of woodland cover. There was no evidence that grey squirrel presence altered relationships between supplementary feeding and avian assemblage structure. This may be because, somewhat surprisingly, supplementary feeding was not associated with the richness or density of wintering bird assemblages. These associations were positive during the summer, supporting advocacy to feed birds during the breeding season and not just winter, but explanatory capacity was limited. The amount of green space and its quality, assessed as canopy cover, had a stronger influence on avian species richness and population size than the presence of grey squirrels and supplementary feeding stations. Urban bird populations are thus more likely to benefit from investment in improving the availability of high quality habitats than controlling squirrel populations or increased investment in supplementary feeding.

  18. Improving a bimanual motor skill through unimanual training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takuji Hayashi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available When we learn a bimanual motor skill (e.g., rowing a boat, we often break it down into unimanual practices (e.g., a rowing drill with the left or right arm. Such unimanual practice is thought to be useful for learning bimanual motor skills efficiently because the learner can concentrate on learning to perform a simpler component. However, it is not so straightforward to assume that unimanual training improves bimanual performance. We have previously demonstrated that motor memories for reaching movements consist of 3 different parts: unimanual-specific, bimanual-specific, and overlapping parts. According to this scheme, unimanual training appears to be less effective, as its training effect is only partially transferred to the same limb for bimanual movement. In the present study, counter-intuitively, we demonstrate that, even after the bimanual skill is almost fully learned by means of bimanual training, additional unimanual training could further improve bimanual skill. We hypothesized that this effect occurs because unimanual training increases the memory content in the overlapping part, which might contribute to an increase in the memory for bimanual movement. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether the unimanual training performed after sufficient bimanual training could improve the bimanual performance. Participants practiced performing bimanual reaching movements in the presence of a novel force-field imposed only on their left arm. As an index for the motor performance, we used the error-clamp method (i.e., after-effect of the left arm to evaluate the force output to compensate for the force-field during the reaching movement. After sufficient bimanual training, the training effect reached a plateau. However, unimanual training performed subsequently improved the bimanual performance significantly. In contrast, when the same amount of bimanual training was continued, the bimanual performance remained unchanged, highlighting the

  19. The effect of handedness on spatial and motor representation of pitch patterns in pianists.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eline Adrianne Smit

    Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of handedness on pianists' abilities to adjust their keyboard performance skills to new spatial and motor mappings. Left- and right-handed pianists practiced simple melodies on a regular MIDI piano keyboard (practice and were then asked to perform these with modified melodic contours (the same or reversed melodic contour causing a change of fingering and on a reversed MIDI piano keyboard (test. The difference of performance duration between the practice and the test phase as well as the amount of errors played were used as test measures. Overall, a stronger effect for modified melodic contours than for the reversed keyboard was observed. Furthermore, we observed a trend of left-handed pianists to be quicker and more accurate in playing melodies when reversing their fingering with reversed contours in their left-hand performances. This suggests that handedness may influence pianists' skill to adjust to new spatial and motor mappings.

  20. The neuroanatomy of pure apraxia of speech in stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graff-Radford, Jonathan; Jones, David T; Strand, Edythe A; Rabinstein, Alejandro A; Duffy, Joseph R; Josephs, Keith A

    2014-02-01

    The left insula or Broca's area have been proposed as the neuroanatomical correlate for apraxia of speech (AOS) based on studies of patients with both AOS and aphasia due to stroke. Studies of neurodegenerative AOS suggest the premotor area and the supplementary motor areas as the anatomical correlates. The study objective was to determine the common infarction area in patients with pure AOS due to stroke. Patients with AOS and no or equivocal aphasia due to ischemic stroke were identified through a pre-existing database. Seven subjects were identified. Five had pure AOS, and two had equivocal aphasia. MRI lesion analysis revealed maximal overlap spanning the left premotor and motor cortices. While both neurodegenerative AOS and stroke induced pure AOS involve the premotor cortex, further studies are needed to establish whether stroke-induced AOS and neurodegenerative AOS share a common anatomic substrate. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Distinguishing Motor Weakness From Impaired Spatial Awareness: A Helping Hand!

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suneil A Raju

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Our patient, aged 73 years, had background peripheral neuropathy of unknown cause, stable for several years, which caused some difficulty in walking on uneven ground. He attended for a teaching session but now staggered in, a new development. He had apparent weakness of his right arm, but there was difficulty in distinguishing motor weakness from impaired spatial awareness suggestive of parietal lobe dysfunction. With the patient seated, eyes closed, and left arm outstretched, S.A.R. lifted the patient’s right arm and asked him to indicate when both were level. This confirmed motor weakness. Urgent computed tomographic scan confirmed left subdural haematoma and its urgent evacuation rapidly resolved the patient’s symptoms. Intrigued by our patient’s case, we explored further and learnt that in rehabilitation medicine, the awareness of limb position is commonly viewed in terms of joint position sense. We present recent literature evidence indicating that the underlying mechanisms are more subtle.

  2. Distinguishing Motor Weakness From Impaired Spatial Awareness: A Helping Hand!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raju, Suneil A; Swift, Charles R; Bardhan, Karna Dev

    2017-01-01

    Our patient, aged 73 years, had background peripheral neuropathy of unknown cause, stable for several years, which caused some difficulty in walking on uneven ground. He attended for a teaching session but now staggered in, a new development. He had apparent weakness of his right arm, but there was difficulty in distinguishing motor weakness from impaired spatial awareness suggestive of parietal lobe dysfunction. With the patient seated, eyes closed, and left arm outstretched, S.A.R. lifted the patient's right arm and asked him to indicate when both were level. This confirmed motor weakness. Urgent computed tomographic scan confirmed left subdural haematoma and its urgent evacuation rapidly resolved the patient's symptoms. Intrigued by our patient's case, we explored further and learnt that in rehabilitation medicine, the awareness of limb position is commonly viewed in terms of joint position sense. We present recent literature evidence indicating that the underlying mechanisms are more subtle.

  3. Daily iTBS worsens hand motor training--a combined TMS, fMRI and mirror training study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Läppchen, C H; Ringer, T; Blessin, J; Schulz, K; Seidel, G; Lange, R; Hamzei, F

    2015-02-15

    Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is used to increase regional excitability to improve motor function in combination with training after neurological diseases or events such as stroke. We investigated whether a daily application of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS; a short-duration rTMS that increases regional excitability) improves the training effect compared with sham stimulation in association with a four-day hand training program using a mirror (mirror training, MT). The right dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC right) was chosen as the target region for iTBS because this region has recently been emphasized as a node within a network related to MT. Healthy subjects were randomized into the iTBS group or sham group (control group CG). In the iTBS group, iTBS was applied daily over dPMC right, which was functionally determined in an initial fMRI session prior to starting MT. MT involved 20 min of hand training daily in a mirror over four days. The hand tests, the intracortical excitability and fMRI were evaluated prior to and at the end of MT. The results of the hand training tests of the iTBS group were surprisingly significantly poorer compared with those from the CG group. Both groups showed a different course of excitability in both M1 and a different course of fMRI activation within the supplementary motor area and M1 left. We suggest the inter-regional functional balance was affected by daily iTBS over dPMC right. Maybe an inter-regional connectivity within a network is differentially balanced. An excitability increase within an inhibitory-balanced network would therefore disturb the underlying network. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with acute spinal cord injury revealed by resting-state functional MRI.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling Zhu

    Full Text Available Previous neuroimaging studies have provided evidence of structural and functional reorganization of brain in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI. However, it remains unknown whether the spontaneous brain activity changes in acute SCI. In this study, we investigated intrinsic brain activity in acute SCI patients using a regional homogeneity (ReHo analysis based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.A total of 15 patients with acute SCI and 16 healthy controls participated in the study. The ReHo value was used to evaluate spontaneous brain activity, and voxel-wise comparisons of ReHo were performed to identify brain regions with altered spontaneous brain activity between groups. We also assessed the associations between ReHo and the clinical scores in brain regions showing changed spontaneous brain activity.Compared with the controls, the acute SCI patients showed decreased ReHo in the bilateral primary motor cortex/primary somatosensory cortex, bilateral supplementary motor area/dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral caudate; and increased ReHo in bilateral precuneus, the left inferior parietal lobe, the left brainstem/hippocampus, the left cingulate motor area, bilateral insula, bilateral thalamus and bilateral cerebellum. The average ReHo values of the left thalamus and right insula were negatively correlated with the international standards for the neurological classification of spinal cord injury motor scores.Our findings indicate that acute distant neuronal damage has an immediate impact on spontaneous brain activity. In acute SCI patients, the ReHo was prominently altered in brain regions involved in motor execution and cognitive control, default mode network, and which are associated with sensorimotor compensatory reorganization. Abnormal ReHo values in the left thalamus and right insula could serve as potential biomarkers for

  5. Relationship of neonatal cerebral blood flow velocity asymmetry with early motor, cognitive and language development in term infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ying-Chin; Hsieh, Wu-Shiun; Hsu, Chyong-Hsin; Chiu, Nan-Chang; Chou, Hung-Chieh; Chen, Chien-Yi; Peng, Shinn-Forng; Hung, Han-Yang; Chang, Jui-Hsing; Chen, Wei J; Jeng, Suh-Fang

    2013-05-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the relationships of Doppler cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) asymmetry measures with developmental outcomes in term infants. Doppler CBFV parameters (peak systolic velocity [PSV] and mean velocity [MV]) of the bilateral middle cerebral arteries of 52 healthy term infants were prospectively examined on postnatal days 1-5, and then their motor, cognitive and language development was evaluated with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition, at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age. The left CBFV asymmetry measure (PSV or MV) was calculated by subtracting the right-side value from the left-side value. Left CBFV asymmetry measures were significantly positively related to motor scores at 6 (r = 0.3-0.32, p cognitive or language outcome. Thus, the leftward hemodynamic status of the middle cerebral arteries, as measured by cranial Doppler ultrasound in the neonatal period, predicts early motor outcome in term infants. Copyright © 2013 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Visual and auditory stimuli associated with swallowing. An fMRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawai, Takeshi; Watanabe, Yutaka; Tonogi, Morio; Yamane, Gen-yuki; Abe, Shinichi; Yamada, Yoshiaki; Callan, Akiko

    2009-01-01

    We focused on brain areas activated by audiovisual stimuli related to swallowing motions. In this study, three kinds of stimuli related to human swallowing movement (auditory stimuli alone, visual stimuli alone, or audiovisual stimuli) were presented to the subjects, and activated brain areas were measured using functional MRI (fMRI) and analyzed. When auditory stimuli alone were presented, the supplementary motor area was activated. When visual stimuli alone were presented, the premotor and primary motor areas of the left and right hemispheres and prefrontal area of the left hemisphere were activated. When audiovisual stimuli were presented, the prefrontal and premotor areas of the left and right hemispheres were activated. Activation of Broca's area, which would have been characteristic of mirror neuron system activation on presentation of motion images, was not observed; however, activation of brain areas related to swallowing motion programming and performance was verified for auditory, visual and audiovisual stimuli related to swallowing motion. These results suggest that audiovisual stimuli related to swallowing motion could be applied to the treatment of patients with dysphagia. (author)

  7. Role of the motor system in language knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berent, Iris; Brem, Anna-Katharine; Zhao, Xu; Seligson, Erica; Pan, Hong; Epstein, Jane; Stern, Emily; Galaburda, Albert M; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro

    2015-02-17

    All spoken languages express words by sound patterns, and certain patterns (e.g., blog) are systematically preferred to others (e.g., lbog). What principles account for such preferences: does the language system encode abstract rules banning syllables like lbog, or does their dislike reflect the increased motor demands associated with speech production? More generally, we ask whether linguistic knowledge is fully embodied or whether some linguistic principles could potentially be abstract. To address this question, here we gauge the sensitivity of English speakers to the putative universal syllable hierarchy (e.g., blif ≻ bnif ≻ bdif ≻ lbif) while undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the cortical motor representation of the left orbicularis oris muscle. If syllable preferences reflect motor simulation, then worse-formed syllables (e.g., lbif) should (i) elicit more errors; (ii) engage more strongly motor brain areas; and (iii) elicit stronger effects of TMS on these motor regions. In line with the motor account, we found that repetitive TMS pulses impaired participants' global sensitivity to the number of syllables, and functional MRI confirmed that the cortical stimulation site was sensitive to the syllable hierarchy. Contrary to the motor account, however, ill-formed syllables were least likely to engage the lip sensorimotor area and they were least impaired by TMS. Results suggest that speech perception automatically triggers motor action, but this effect is not causally linked to the computation of linguistic structure. We conclude that the language and motor systems are intimately linked, yet distinct. Language is designed to optimize motor action, but its knowledge includes principles that are disembodied and potentially abstract.

  8. Role of the motor system in language knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berent, Iris; Brem, Anna-Katharine; Zhao, Xu; Seligson, Erica; Pan, Hong; Epstein, Jane; Stern, Emily; Galaburda, Albert M.; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro

    2015-01-01

    All spoken languages express words by sound patterns, and certain patterns (e.g., blog) are systematically preferred to others (e.g., lbog). What principles account for such preferences: does the language system encode abstract rules banning syllables like lbog, or does their dislike reflect the increased motor demands associated with speech production? More generally, we ask whether linguistic knowledge is fully embodied or whether some linguistic principles could potentially be abstract. To address this question, here we gauge the sensitivity of English speakers to the putative universal syllable hierarchy (e.g., blif≻bnif≻bdif≻lbif) while undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the cortical motor representation of the left orbicularis oris muscle. If syllable preferences reflect motor simulation, then worse-formed syllables (e.g., lbif) should (i) elicit more errors; (ii) engage more strongly motor brain areas; and (iii) elicit stronger effects of TMS on these motor regions. In line with the motor account, we found that repetitive TMS pulses impaired participants’ global sensitivity to the number of syllables, and functional MRI confirmed that the cortical stimulation site was sensitive to the syllable hierarchy. Contrary to the motor account, however, ill-formed syllables were least likely to engage the lip sensorimotor area and they were least impaired by TMS. Results suggest that speech perception automatically triggers motor action, but this effect is not causally linked to the computation of linguistic structure. We conclude that the language and motor systems are intimately linked, yet distinct. Language is designed to optimize motor action, but its knowledge includes principles that are disembodied and potentially abstract. PMID:25646465

  9. 12038_2016_9630_Supplementary 1..4

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary file 2. b a. HiSeq dataset with SRA accession number SRR892664 and read length 150 bases. (H. sapiens), b. MiSeq dataset with SRA accession number ERP000362 and read length 250 bases (H. sapiens), c. GA IIx dataset with SRA accession number SRR660877 and read length 91 bases (H. sapiens), ...

  10. Are children who play a sport or a musical instrument better at motor imagery than children who do not?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dey, Abhishikta; Barnsley, Nadia; Mohan, Rahul; McCormick, Marianne; McAuley, James H; Moseley, G Lorimer

    2012-10-01

    Playing a sport or a musical instrument is presumed to improve motor ability. One would therefore predict that children who play a sport or music are better at motor imagery tasks, which rely on an intact cortical proprioceptive representation and precise motor planning, than children who do not. The authors tested this prediction. This study involved an online questionnaire and then a motor imagery task. The task measured the reaction time (RT) and the accuracy for left/right-hand judgements in children aged 5 to 17 years. Forty pictured hands (20 left), held in various positions and rotated zero, 90°, 180° or 270°, were displayed on a screen. Participants indicated whether the displayed hands were left or right by pressing keys on a keyboard. Fifty-seven children (30 boys; mean±SD age=10±3.3 years) participated. The mean±SD RT was 3015.4±1330.0 ms and the accuracy was 73.9±16.6%. There was no difference in RT between children who played sport, music, neither or both (four-level one-way analysis of variance, p=0.85). There was no difference in accuracy between groups either (Kruskal-Wallis, p=0.46). In a secondary analysis, participants whose parents rated them as being 'clumsy' were no slower (n.s.) but were about 25% less accurate than those rated coordinated or very coordinated (pmusic is associated with better cortical proprioceptive representation and motor planning. Secondary analyses suggest that parent-rated clumsiness is negatively related to motor imagery performance.

  11. Modulation of mu rhythm desynchronization during motor imagery by transcranial direct current stimulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimura Akio

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The mu event-related desynchronization (ERD is supposed to reflect motor preparation and appear during motor imagery. The aim of this study is to examine the modulation of ERD with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS. Methods Six healthy subjects were asked to imagine their right hand grasping something after receiving a visual cue. Electroencephalograms (EEGs were recorded near the left M1. ERD of the mu rhythm (mu ERD by right hand motor imagery was measured. tDCS (10 min, 1 mA was used to modulate the cortical excitability of M1. Anodal, cathodal, and sham tDCS were tested in each subject with a randomized sequence on different days. Each condition was separated from the preceding one by more than 1 week in the same subject. Before and after tDCS, mu ERD was assessed. The motor thresholds (MT of the left M1 were also measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Results Mu ERD significantly increased after anodal stimulation, whereas it significantly decreased after cathodal stimulation. There was a significant correlation between mu ERD and MT. Conclusions Opposing effects on mu ERD based on the orientation of the stimulation suggest that mu ERD is affected by cortical excitability.

  12. Thermodynamics and kinetics of molecular motors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astumian, R Dean

    2010-06-02

    Molecular motors are first and foremost molecules, governed by the laws of chemistry rather than of mechanics. The dynamical behavior of motors based on chemical principles can be described as a random walk on a network of states. A key insight is that any molecular motor in solution explores all possible motions and configurations at thermodynamic equilibrium. By using input energy and chemical design to prevent motion that is not wanted, what is left behind is the motion that is desired. This review is focused on two-headed motors such as kinesin and Myosin V that move on a polymeric track. By use of microscopic reversibility, it is shown that the ratio between the number of forward steps and the number of backward steps in any sufficiently long time period does not directly depend on the mechanical properties of the linker between the two heads. Instead, this ratio is governed by the relative chemical specificity of the heads in the front-versus-rear position for the fuel, adenosine triphosphate and its products, adenosine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate. These insights have been key factors in the design of biologically inspired synthetic molecular walkers constructed out of DNA or out of small organic molecules. Copyright (c) 2010 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Disrupted nodal and hub organization account for brain network abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuko Koshimori

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The recent application of graph theory to brain networks promises to shed light on complex diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. This study aimed to investigate functional changes in sensorimotor and cognitive networks in parkinsonian patients, with a focus on inter- and intra-connectivity organization in the disease-associated nodal and hub regions using the graph theoretical analyses. Resting-state functional MRI data of a total of 65 participants, including 23 healthy controls and 42 patients, were investigated in 120 nodes for local efficiency, betweenness centrality, and degree. Hub regions were identified in the healthy control and patient groups. We found nodal and hub changes in patients compared with healthy controls, including the right pre-supplementary motor area, left anterior insula, bilateral mid-insula, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right caudate nucleus. In general, nodal regions within the sensorimotor network (i.e. right pre-supplementary motor area and right mid-insula displayed weakened connectivity, with the former node associated with more severe bradykinesia, and impaired integration with default mode network regions. The left mid-insula also lost its hub properties in patients. Within the executive networks, the left anterior insular cortex lost its hub properties in patients, while a new hub region was identified in the right caudate nucleus, paralleled by an increased level of inter- and intra-connectivity in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex possibly representing compensatory mechanisms. These findings highlight the diffuse changes in nodal organization and regional hub disruption accounting for the distributed abnormalities across brain networks and the clinical manifestations of Parkinson’s disease.

  14. Motor simulation and the coordination of self and other in real-time joint action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novembre, Giacomo; Ticini, Luca F; Schütz-Bosbach, Simone; Keller, Peter E

    2014-08-01

    Joint actions require the integration of simultaneous self- and other-related behaviour. Here, we investigated whether this function is underpinned by motor simulation, that is the capacity to represent a perceived action in terms of the neural resources required to execute it. This was tested in a music performance experiment wherein on-line brain stimulation (double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation, dTMS) was employed to interfere with motor simulation. Pianists played the right-hand part of piano pieces in synchrony with a recording of the left-hand part, which had (Trained) or had not (Untrained) been practiced beforehand. Training was assumed to enhance motor simulation. The task required adaptation to tempo changes in the left-hand part that, in critical conditions, were preceded by dTMS delivered over the right primary motor cortex. Accuracy of tempo adaptation following dTMS or sham stimulations was compared across Trained and Untrained conditions. Results indicate that dTMS impaired tempo adaptation accuracy only during the perception of trained actions. The magnitude of this interference was greater in empathic individuals possessing a strong tendency to adopt others' perspectives. These findings suggest that motor simulation provides a functional resource for the temporal coordination of one's own behaviour with others in dynamic social contexts. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Low-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation over left dorsal premotor cortex improves the dynamic control of visuospatially cued actions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ward, Nick S; Bestmann, Sven; Hartwigsen, Gesa

    2010-01-01

    Left rostral dorsal premotor cortex (rPMd) and supramarginal gyrus (SMG) have been implicated in the dynamic control of actions. In 12 right-handed healthy individuals, we applied 30 min of low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over left rPMd to investigate...... the involvement of left rPMd and SMG in the rapid adjustment of actions guided by visuospatial cues. After rTMS, subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while making spatially congruent button presses with the right or left index finger in response to a left- or right-sided target. Subjects were...... that left rPMd and SMG-AIP contribute toward dynamic control of actions and demonstrate that low-frequency rTMS can enhance functional coupling between task-relevant brain regions and improve some aspects of motor performance....

  16. Inhibition of the primary motor cortex and the upgoing thumb sign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonia Nucera

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The upgoing thumb sign has been frequently observed in patients with minor strokes and transient ischemic attacks as an indicator of brain involvement. We assessed the effect of primary motor cortex (M1 inhibition in the development of the upgoing thumb sign. Methods: Used repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS, 1Hz frequency for 15min, 1s ISI, 900 pulses at 60% of resting motor threshold to inhibit the right or left primary motor cortex of 10 healthy individuals. Participants were examined before and after rTMS by a neurologist who was blind to the site of motor cortex inhibition. Results: 10 neurological intact participants (5 women/5 men were recruited for this study. 2 cases were excluded due to pre-existing possible thumb signs. After the inhibition of the primary motor cortex, in 6 subjects out of 8, we observed a thumb sign contralateral to the site of primary motor cortex inhibition. In one subject an ipsilateral thumbs sign was noted. In another case, we did not find an upgoing thumb sign. Conclusion: The upgoing thumb sign is a subtle neurological finding that may be related to the primary motor cortex or corticospinal pathways involvements. Keywords: Corticospinal tract, Upper motor neuron lesions, Primary motor cortex, Transcranial magnetic stimulation

  17. Motor-symptom laterality affects acquisition in Parkinson's disease: A cognitive and functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Pei; Tan, Yu-Yan; Liu, Dong-Qiang; Herzallah, Mohammad M; Lapidow, Elizabeth; Wang, Ying; Zang, Yu-Feng; Gluck, Mark A; Chen, Sheng-Di

    2017-07-01

    Asymmetric onset of motor symptoms in PD can affect cognitive function. We examined whether motor-symptom laterality could affect feedback-based associative learning and explored its underlying neural mechanism by functional magnetic resonance imaging in PD patients. We recruited 63 early-stage medication-naïve PD patients (29 left-onset medication-naïve patients, 34 right-onset medication-naïve patients) and 38 matched normal controls. Subjects completed an acquired equivalence task (including acquisition, retention, and generalization) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Learning accuracy and response time in each phase of the task were recorded for behavioral measures. Regional homogeneity was used to analyze resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data, with regional homogeneity lateralization to evaluate hemispheric functional asymmetry in the striatum. Left-onset patients made significantly more errors in acquisition (feedback-based associative learning) than right-onset patients and normal controls, whereas right-onset patients performed as well as normal controls. There was no significant difference among these three groups in the accuracy of either retention or generalization phase. The three groups did not show significant differences in response time. In the left-onset group, there was an inverse relationship between acquisition errors and regional homogeneity in the right dorsal rostral putamen. There were no significant regional homogeneity changes in either the left or the right dorsal rostral putamen in right-onset patients when compared to controls. Motor-symptom laterality could affect feedback-based associative learning in PD, with left-onset medication-naïve patients being selectively impaired. Dysfunction in the right dorsal rostral putamen may underlie the observed deficit in associative learning in patients with left-sided onset.© 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. © 2017

  18. Whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging of human brain during voluntary movements of dominant and subdominant hands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Wei; Yan Zixu; Ma Xiaohai; Zhang Zhaoqi; Lin Chongyu; Zang Yufeng; Weng Xuchu

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To identify the neural substrates of voluntary movements of dominant and subdominant hands by using the whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging. Methods: Seven right-handed healthy volunteers were scanned at a Sonata 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner (Siemens) while they were performing the visually instructive movement tasks with their right and left index fingers. Image data were co-registered to correct head motion, spatially normalized according to the standard coordinates, and spatially smoothed with isotopic Guassian Kernel. Statistical parametric maps (activation maps) for right and left hands were generated respectively by cross-correlation analysis. Results: Voluntary movements of the right/dominant hand mainly activated contralateral primary motor cortex (MI), bilateral supplementary motor area (SMA), bilateral second motor area (MII), and ipsilateral cerebellum, whereas movements of the left/subdominant hand additionally elicited activation in contralateral premotor area (PMC). Moreover, activation volumes in SMA and MII during movements of the subdominant hand were significantly larger than those during movements of the dominant hand. Conclusion: A large set of structures in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum is involved in voluntary movements, as revealed by whole brain-based fMRI. Movements of the subdominant hand are more dependent on higher control areas, such as SMA and PMC, comparing to movements of the dominant hand

  19. THE COURT’S COMPETENCE TO DISMISS THE SUPPLEMENTARY SANCTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenia IOVĂNAȘ

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available According to art. 34 par. 1 from the UGO no. 34/2001, the court settling the complaint against the offence notice, verifying the legality and substantiality of same, decides on the sanction without distinguishing between the main and the supplementary sanctions. From corroborating these legal provisions with the stipulations under art. 5 from the same normative act, according to which the established sanction must be proportional with the degree of social danger of the committed act, without making differences between the types of sanctions, as well as those of art. 5 and art. 6 according to which the supplementary sanctions are to be applied depending on the nature and seriousness of the fact, it results that the law enforcer has also decided on the right of the court to assess inclusively the proportionality of the sanction in case of applying the supplementary measures, not only in applying main sanctions. And this is so because the proportionality of the committed act and its consequences is one of the requirements demanded by the ECHR jurisprudence in the matter of applying any rights restrictive measures.

  20. Electrophysiological Signs of Supplementary-Motor-Area Deficits in High-Functioning Autism but Not Asperger Syndrome: An Examination of Internally Cued Movement-Related Potentials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enticott, Peter G.; Bradshaw, John L.; Iansek, Robert; Tonge, Bruce J.; Rinehart, Nicole J.

    2009-01-01

    Aims: Motor dysfunction is common to both autism and Asperger syndrome, but the underlying neurophysiological impairments are unclear. Neurophysiological examinations of motor dysfunction can provide information about likely sites of functional impairment and can contribute to the debate about whether autism and Asperger syndrome are variants of…

  1. 3D visualization of movements can amplify motor cortex activation during subsequent motor imagery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sollfrank, Teresa; Hart, Daniel; Goodsell, Rachel; Foster, Jonathan; Tan, Tele

    2015-01-01

    A repetitive movement practice by motor imagery (MI) can influence motor cortical excitability in the electroencephalogram (EEG). This study investigated if a realistic visualization in 3D of upper and lower limb movements can amplify motor related potentials during subsequent MI. We hypothesized that a richer sensory visualization might be more effective during instrumental conditioning, resulting in a more pronounced event related desynchronization (ERD) of the upper alpha band (10-12 Hz) over the sensorimotor cortices thereby potentially improving MI based brain-computer interface (BCI) protocols for motor rehabilitation. The results show a strong increase of the characteristic patterns of ERD of the upper alpha band components for left and right limb MI present over the sensorimotor areas in both visualization conditions. Overall, significant differences were observed as a function of visualization modality (VM; 2D vs. 3D). The largest upper alpha band power decrease was obtained during MI after a 3-dimensional visualization. In total in 12 out of 20 tasks the end-user of the 3D visualization group showed an enhanced upper alpha ERD relative to 2D VM group, with statistical significance in nine tasks.With a realistic visualization of the limb movements, we tried to increase motor cortex activation during subsequent MI. The feedback and the feedback environment should be inherently motivating and relevant for the learner and should have an appeal of novelty, real-world relevance or aesthetic value (Ryan and Deci, 2000; Merrill, 2007). Realistic visual feedback, consistent with the participant's MI, might be helpful for accomplishing successful MI and the use of such feedback may assist in making BCI a more natural interface for MI based BCI rehabilitation.

  2. Investigating the status of supplementary tuition in the teaching and learning of mathematics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Mogari

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The study seeks to investigate the status of supplementary tuition in the teaching and learning of mathematics and mathematical literacy. The study followed a descriptive survey design involving the use of learner and teacher questionnaires. A convenient sample of mathematics and mathematical literacy teachers together with a stratified sample of their Grade 11 learners were drawn from a purposive sample of highperforming high schools in the East London district of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The results show that supplementary tuition is popular, especially among girls, and it is in three forms (i.e. private tuition, vacation school and problem-solving classes: Problemsolving classes dominated by working on past/model examination papers is the most preferred; in some instances supplementary tuition is offered for a fee; it is not only confined to poor performing learners; and participation in supplementary tuition is influenced by a variety of factors.

  3. Is the ipsilateral cortex surrounding the lesion or the non-injured contralateral cortex important for motor recovery in rats with photochemically induced cortical lesions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takata, Kotaro; Yamauchi, Hideki; Tatsuno, Hisashi; Hashimoto, Keiji; Abo, Masahiro

    2006-01-01

    To determine whether the ipsilateral cortex surrounding the lesion or the non-injured contralateral cortex is important for motor recovery after brain damage in the photochemically initiated thrombosis (PIT) model. We induced PIT in the sensorimotor cortex in rats and examined the recovery of motor function using the beam-walking test. In 24 rats, the right sensorimotor cortex was lesioned after 2 days of training for the beam-walking test (group 1). After 10 days, PIT was induced in the left sensorimotor cortex. Eight additional rats (group 2) received 2 days training in beam walking, then underwent the beam-walking test to evaluate function. After 10 days of testing, the left sensorimotor cortex was lesioned and recovery was monitored by the beam-walking test for 8 days. In group 1 animals, left hindlimb function caused by a right sensorimotor cortex lesion recovered within 10 days after the operation. Right hindlimb function caused by the left-side lesion recovered within 6 days. In group 2, right hindlimb function caused by induction of the left-side lesion after a total of 12 days of beam-walking training and testing recovered within 6 days as with the double PIT model. The training effect may be relevant to reorganization and neuromodulation. Motor recovery patterns did not indicate whether motor recovery was dependent on the ipsilateral cortex surrounding the lesion or the cortex of the contralateral side. The results emphasize the need for selection of appropriate programs tailored to the area of cortical damage in order to enhance motor functional recovery in this model. Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  4. Directionality analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging during motor task using Granger causality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anwar, A R; Muthalib, M; Perrey, S; Galka, A; Granert, O; Wolff, S; Deuschl, G; Raethjen, J; Heute, U; Muthuraman, M

    2012-01-01

    Directionality analysis of signals originating from different parts of brain during motor tasks has gained a lot of interest. Since brain activity can be recorded over time, methods of time series analysis can be applied to medical time series as well. Granger Causality is a method to find a causal relationship between time series. Such causality can be referred to as a directional connection and is not necessarily bidirectional. The aim of this study is to differentiate between different motor tasks on the basis of activation maps and also to understand the nature of connections present between different parts of the brain. In this paper, three different motor tasks (finger tapping, simple finger sequencing, and complex finger sequencing) are analyzed. Time series for each task were extracted from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, which have a very good spatial resolution and can look into the sub-cortical regions of the brain. Activation maps based on fMRI images show that, in case of complex finger sequencing, most parts of the brain are active, unlike finger tapping during which only limited regions show activity. Directionality analysis on time series extracted from contralateral motor cortex (CMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and cerebellum (CER) show bidirectional connections between these parts of the brain. In case of simple finger sequencing and complex finger sequencing, the strongest connections originate from SMA and CMC, while connections originating from CER in either direction are the weakest ones in magnitude during all paradigms.

  5. Supplementary household water sources to augment potable ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper addresses on-site supplementary household water sources with a focus on groundwater abstraction, rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse as available non-potable water sources to residential consumers. An end-use model is presented and used to assess the theoretical impact of household water sources ...

  6. Supplementary data: Materials and methods RNA expression ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ritt8

    Supplementary data: Materials and methods. RNA expression analysis. Freshly collected tissue was taken in TRIzol reagent for total RNA isolation according to the manufacturer's protocol. The cDNA synthesis was carried out in 1 μg total RNA using Random hexamer (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, USA) and Superscript III ...

  7. 49 CFR 805.735-17 - Supplementary statements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... SAFETY BOARD EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT § 805.735-17 Supplementary statements. Changes in, or additions to, the information contained in an employee's statement of employment and financial interests.... Notwithstanding the filing of the annual report required by this section, each employee shall at all times avoid...

  8. Persistent antidepressant effect of low-dose ketamine and activation in the supplementary motor area and anterior cingulate cortex in treatment-resistant depression: A randomized control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Mu-Hong; Li, Cheng-Ta; Lin, Wei-Chen; Hong, Chen-Jee; Tu, Pei-Chi; Bai, Ya-Mei; Cheng, Chih-Ming; Su, Tung-Ping

    2018-01-01

    A single low-dose ketamine infusion exhibited a rapid antidepressant effect within 1h. Despite its short biological half-life (approximately 3h), the antidepressant effect of ketamine has been demonstrated to persist for several days. However, changes in brain function responsible for the persistent antidepressant effect of a single low-dose ketamine infusion remain unclear METHODS: Twenty-four patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) were randomized into three groups according to the treatment received: 0.5mg/kg ketamine, 0.2mg/kg ketamine, and normal saline infusion. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) of glucose metabolism measured through 18 F-FDG positron-emission-tomography before infusion and 1day after a 40-min ketamine or normal saline infusion were used for subsequent whole-brain voxel-wise analysis and were correlated with depressive symptoms, as defined using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HDRS-17) score RESULTS: The voxel-wise analysis revealed that patients with TRD receiving the 0.5mg/kg ketamine infusion had significantly higher SUVs (corrected for family-wise errors, P = 0.014) in the supplementary motor area (SMA) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) than did those receiving the 0.2mg/kg ketamine infusion. The increase in the SUV in the dACC was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms at 1day after ketamine infusion DISCUSSION: The persistent antidepressant effect of a 0.5mg/kg ketamine infusion may be mediated by increased activation in the SMA and dACC. The higher increase in dACC activation was related to the reduction in depressive symptoms after ketamine infusion. A 0.5mg/kg ketamine infusion facilitated the glutamatergic neurotransmission in the SMA and dACC, which may be responsible for the persistent antidepressant effect of ketamine much beyond its half-life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Somatotopic Semantic Priming and Prediction in the Motor System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grisoni, Luigi; Dreyer, Felix R.; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2016-01-01

    The recognition of action-related sounds and words activates motor regions, reflecting the semantic grounding of these symbols in action information; in addition, motor cortex exerts causal influences on sound perception and language comprehension. However, proponents of classic symbolic theories still dispute the role of modality-preferential systems such as the motor cortex in the semantic processing of meaningful stimuli. To clarify whether the motor system carries semantic processes, we investigated neurophysiological indexes of semantic relationships between action-related sounds and words. Event-related potentials revealed that action-related words produced significantly larger stimulus-evoked (Mismatch Negativity-like) and predictive brain responses (Readiness Potentials) when presented in body-part-incongruent sound contexts (e.g., “kiss” in footstep sound context; “kick” in whistle context) than in body-part-congruent contexts, a pattern reminiscent of neurophysiological correlates of semantic priming. Cortical generators of the semantic relatedness effect were localized in areas traditionally associated with semantic memory, including left inferior frontal cortex and temporal pole, and, crucially, in motor areas, where body-part congruency of action sound–word relationships was indexed by a somatotopic pattern of activation. As our results show neurophysiological manifestations of action-semantic priming in the motor cortex, they prove semantic processing in the motor system and thus in a modality-preferential system of the human brain. PMID:26908635

  10. The effect of receiving supplementary UI benefits on unemployment duration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tomi, Kyyrä,; Pierpaolo, Parrotta,; Rosholm, Michael

    2013-01-01

    insurance benefit receipt. We find evidence of a negative in-treatment effect and a positive post-treatment effect, both of which vary across different groups of individuals. The resulting net effect on the expected unemployment duration is positive for some groups (e.g. married women) and negative......We consider the consequences of working part-time and receiving supplementary benefits for part-time unemployment in the Danish labor market. Following the timing-of-events approach we estimate causal effects of part-time work with supplementary benefits on the hazard rate out of unemployment...

  11. Apoptosis-inducing effect of selective sensory or motor nerve injury on skeletal muscle atrophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei ZHAO

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective To explore the apoptosis-inducing effect of selective sensory or motor nerve injury on skeletal muscle atrophy.Methods Thirty healthy adult SD rats were randomly divided into three groups,namely,ventral root transection group(VRT group,received left L4-L6 ventral rhizotomy,dorsal root transection group(DRT group,received left L4-L6 dorsal rhizotomy,and sciatic nerve transection group(SNT group,received left sciatic nerve transection.Each group comprised 10 SD rats.The bilateral gastrocnemius was harvested 10 weeks after operation to observe the apoptosis and Fas/FasL expression of the skeletal muscle cells through fluorescent labeling,transmission electron microscopy,and immunohistochemistry.Result Ten weeks after the denervation,apoptosis-related changes,especially obvious changes of the nuclear apoptotic morphology,were observed in the skeletal muscle cells.The aggregation degree of the nucleus and the expression of Fas/FasL increased in the following order: DRT group,VRT group,and SNT group.No apoptotic body,but early apoptotic morphology,was found in the denervated gastrocnemius through transmission electron microscopy.Conclusions The effect of motor nerve injury on skeletal muscle atrophy is more serious than that of sensory nerve injury.The rebuilding of motor nerves should be preferentially considered in the clinical treatment of muscle atrophy induced by denervation.

  12. High-definition transcranial direct-current stimulation of the right M1 further facilitates left M1 excitability during crossed facilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cabibel, Vincent; Muthalib, Makii; Teo, Wei-Peng; Perrey, Stephane

    2018-04-01

    The crossed-facilitation (CF) effect refers to when motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) evoked in the relaxed muscles of one arm are facilitated by contraction of the opposite arm. The aim of this study was to determine whether high-definition transcranial direct-current stimulation (HD-tDCS) applied to the right primary motor cortex (M1) controlling the left contracting arm [50% maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC)] would further facilitate CF toward the relaxed right arm. Seventeen healthy right-handed subjects participated in an anodal and cathodal or sham HD-tDCS session of the right M1 (2 mA for 20 min) separated by at least 48 h. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to elicit MEPs and cortical silent periods (CSPs) from the left M1 at baseline and 10 min into and after right M1 HD-tDCS. At baseline, compared with resting, CF (i.e., right arm resting, left arm 50% MVIC) increased left M1 MEP amplitudes (+97%) and decreased CSPs (-11%). The main novel finding was that right M1 HD-tDCS further increased left M1 excitability (+28.3%) and inhibition (+21%) from baseline levels during CF of the left M1, with no difference between anodal and cathodal HD-tDCS sessions. No modulation of CSP or MEP was observed during sham HD-tDCS sessions. Our findings suggest that CF of the left M1 combined with right M1 anodal or cathodal HD-tDCS further facilitated interhemispheric interactions during CF from the right M1 (contracting left arm) toward the left M1 (relaxed right arm), with effects on both excitatory and inhibitory processing. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study shows modulation of the nonstimulated left M1 by right M1 HD-tDCS combined with crossed facilitation, which was probably achieved through modulation of interhemispheric interactions.

  13. Motor control of handwriting in the developing brain: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmis, Sarah; Danna, Jeremy; Velay, Jean-Luc; Longcamp, Marieke

    This review focuses on the acquisition of writing motor aspects in adults, and in 5-to 12-year-old children without learning disabilities. We first describe the behavioural aspects of adult writing and dominant models based on the notion of motor programs. We show that handwriting acquisition is characterized by the transition from reactive movements programmed stroke-by-stroke in younger children, to an automatic control of the whole trajectory when the motor programs are memorized at about 10 years old. Then, we describe the neural correlates of adult writing, and the changes that could occur with learning during childhood. The acquisition of a new skill is characterized by the involvement of a network more restricted in space and where neural specificity is increased in key regions. The cerebellum and the left dorsal premotor cortex are of fundamental importance in motor learning, and could be at the core of the acquisition of handwriting.

  14. Observation of Point-Light-Walker Locomotion Induces Motor Resonance When Explicitly Represented; An EEG Source Analysis Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Inuggi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Understanding human motion, to infer the goal of others' actions, is thought to involve the observer's motor repertoire. One prominent class of actions, the human locomotion, has been object of several studies, all focused on manipulating the shape of degraded human figures like point-light walker (PLW stimuli, represented as walking on the spot. Nevertheless, since the main goal of the locomotor function is to displace the whole body from one position to the other, these stimuli might not fully represent a goal-directed action and thus might not be able to induce the same motor resonance mechanism expected when observing a natural locomotion. To explore this hypothesis, we recorded the event-related potentials (ERP of canonical/scrambled and translating/centered PLWs decoding. We individuated a novel ERP component (N2c over central electrodes, around 435 ms after stimulus onset, for translating compared to centered PLW, only when the canonical shape was preserved. Consistently with our hypothesis, sources analysis associated this component to the activation of trunk and lower legs primary sensory-motor and supplementary motor areas. These results confirm the role of own motor repertoire in processing human action and suggest that ERP can detect the associated motor resonance only when the human figure is explicitly involved in performing a meaningful action.

  15. Sensitivity of different ADL measures to apraxia and motor impairments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donkervoort, Mireille; Dekker, Joost; Deelman, Betto G

    2002-05-01

    To determine whether specifically designed activities of daily living (ADL) observations can measure disability due to apraxia with more sensitivity than the Barthel ADL Index, a conventional functional scale. Cross-sectional study. Rehabilitation centres and nursing homes. One hundred and six left hemisphere stroke patients with apraxia, hospitalized in rehabilitation centres and nursing homes. ADL observations, Barthel ADL Index, an apraxia test, Motricity Index, Functional Motor Test. Multivariate analyses showed that the specific ADL observations were associated with severity of apraxia (and not with motor impairments). The Barthel ADL Index was associated with motor impairments (and not with severity of apraxia). The assessment of disability in stroke patients with apraxia cannot rely only on the Barthel ADL Index. In addition, the specific ADL observation procedure is needed to measure disability due to apraxia.

  16. Transcranial magnetic stimulation reveals two functionally distinct stages of motor cortex involvement during perception of emotional body language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borgomaneri, Sara; Gazzola, Valeria; Avenanti, Alessio

    2015-09-01

    Studies indicate that perceiving emotional body language recruits fronto-parietal regions involved in action execution. However, the nature of such motor activation is unclear. Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) we provide correlational and causative evidence of two distinct stages of motor cortex engagement during emotion perception. Participants observed pictures of body expressions and categorized them as happy, fearful or neutral while receiving TMS over the left or right motor cortex at 150 and 300 ms after picture onset. In the early phase (150 ms), we observed a reduction of excitability for happy and fearful emotional bodies that was specific to the right hemisphere and correlated with participants' disposition to feel personal distress. This 'orienting' inhibitory response to emotional bodies was also paralleled by a general drop in categorization accuracy when stimulating the right but not the left motor cortex. Conversely, at 300 ms, greater excitability for negative, positive and neutral movements was found in both hemispheres. This later motor facilitation marginally correlated with participants' tendency to assume the psychological perspectives of others and reflected simulation of the movement implied in the neutral and emotional body expressions. These findings highlight the motor system's involvement during perception of emotional bodies. They suggest that fast orienting reactions to emotional cues--reflecting neural processing necessary for visual perception--occur before motor features of the observed emotional expression are simulated in the motor system and that distinct empathic dispositions influence these two neural motor phenomena. Implications for theories of embodied simulation are discussed.

  17. Kinesthetic alexia due to left parietal lobe lesions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ihori, Nami; Kawamura, Mitsuru; Araki, Shigeo; Kawachi, Juro

    2002-01-01

    To investigate the neuropsychological mechanisms of kinesthetic alexia, we asked 7 patients who showed kinesthetic alexia with preserved visual reading after damage to the left parietal region to perform tasks consisting of kinesthetic written reproduction (writing down the same letter as the kinesthetic stimulus), kinesthetic reading aloud, visual written reproduction (copying letters), and visual reading aloud of hiragana (Japanese phonograms). We compared the performance in these tasks and the lesion sites in each patient. The results suggested that deficits in any one of the following functions might cause kinesthetic alexia: (1) the retrieval of kinesthetic images (motor engrams) of characters from kinesthetic stimuli, (2) kinesthetic images themselves, (3) access to cross-modal association from kinesthetic images, and (4) cross-modal association itself (retrieval of auditory and visual images from kinesthetic images of characters). Each of these factors seemed to be related to different lesion sites in the left parietal lobe. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

  18. [Dextrals and sinistrals (right-handers and left-handers): specificity of interhemispheric brain asymmetry and EEG coherence parameters].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhavoronkova, L A

    2007-01-01

    Data of literature about morphological, functional and biochemical specificity of the brain interhemispheric asymmetry of healthy right-handers and left-handers and about peculiarity of dynamics of cerebral pathology in patients with different individual asymmetry profiles are presented at the present article. Results of our investigation by using coherence parameters of electroencephalogram (EEG) in healthy right-handers and left-handers in state of rest, during functional tests and sleeping and in patients with different forms of the brain organic damage were analyzed too. EEG coherence analysis revealed the reciprocal changing of alpha-beta and theta-delta spectral bands in right-handers whilein left-handers synchronous changing of all EEG spectral bands were observed. Data about regional-frequent specificity of EEG coherence, peculiarity of EEG asymmetry in right-handers and left-handers, aslo about specificity of EEG spectral band genesis and point of view about a role of the brain regulator systems in forming of interhemispheric asymmetry in different functional states allowed to propose the conception about principle of interhermispheric brain asymmetry formation in left-handers and left-handers. Following this conception in dextrals elements of concurrent (summary-reciprocal) cooperation are predominant at the character of interhemispheric and cortical-subcortical interaction while in sinistrals a principle of concordance (supplementary) is preferable. These peculiarities the brain organization determine, from the first side, the quicker revovery of functions damaged after cranio-cerebral trauma in left-handers in comparison right-handers and from the other side - they determine the forming of the more expressed pathology in the remote terms after exposure the low dose of radiation.

  19. Damage to the Left Precentral Gyrus Is Associated With Apraxia of Speech in Acute Stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itabashi, Ryo; Nishio, Yoshiyuki; Kataoka, Yuka; Yazawa, Yukako; Furui, Eisuke; Matsuda, Minoru; Mori, Etsuro

    2016-01-01

    Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a motor speech disorder, which is clinically characterized by the combination of phonemic segmental changes and articulatory distortions. AOS has been believed to arise from impairment in motor speech planning/programming and differentiated from both aphasia and dysarthria. The brain regions associated with AOS are still a matter of debate. The aim of this study was to address this issue in a large number of consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients. We retrospectively studied 136 patients with isolated nonlacunar infarcts in the left middle cerebral artery territory (70.5±12.9 years old, 79 males). In accordance with speech and language assessments, the patients were classified into the following groups: pure form of AOS (pure AOS), AOS with aphasia (AOS-aphasia), and without AOS (non-AOS). Voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping analysis was performed on T2-weighted images or fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images. Using the Liebermeister method, group-wise comparisons were made between the all AOS (pure AOS plus AOS-aphasia) and non-AOS, pure AOS and non-AOS, AOS-aphasia and non-AOS, and pure AOS and AOS-aphasia groups. Of the 136 patients, 22 patients were diagnosed with AOS (7 patients with pure AOS and 15 patients with AOS-aphasia). The voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping analysis demonstrated that the brain regions associated with AOS were centered on the left precentral gyrus. Damage to the left precentral gyrus is associated with AOS in acute to subacute stroke patients, suggesting a role of this brain region in motor speech production. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

  20. On the functional relationship between language and motor processing in typewriting: an EEG study

    OpenAIRE

    Scaltritti, Michele; Pinet, Svetlana; Longcamp, Marieke; Alario, F-Xavier

    2017-01-01

    International audience; The functional relationship between language and motor processing was investigated to elucidate whether it is better described in terms of a discrete or a continuous account of information flow. To this end, we recorded event-related potentials during a typewriting task that combined a semantic priming paradigm with a manipulation of response side (response initiated with right vs. left hand), and focused on the lateralised potentials indexing motor-response activation...

  1. Edward’s syndrome: A rare cause of difficult intubation-utility of left molar approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teena Bansal

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Edward’s syndrome (trisomy 18 is an autosomal abnormality with dysmorphic face, visceral deformities and delayed mental and motor development including congenital heart disease. Challenges may arise during mask ventilation, laryngoscopy and/or intubation of the trachea due to dysmorphic face. Difficult airway cart should be kept ready. Left molar approach using a standard Macintosh blade improves the laryngoscopic view in patients with difficult midline laryngoscopy. We hereby present a case report of a 2 year old male child with Edward’s syndrome posted for evacuation and drainage of brain abscess, intubated successfully using left molar approach.

  2. When will a stuttering moment occur? The determining role of speech motor preparation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanhoutte, Sarah; Cosyns, Marjan; van Mierlo, Pieter; Batens, Katja; Corthals, Paul; De Letter, Miet; Van Borsel, John; Santens, Patrick

    2016-06-01

    The present study aimed to evaluate whether increased activity related to speech motor preparation preceding fluently produced words reflects a successful compensation strategy in stuttering. For this purpose, a contingent negative variation (CNV) was evoked during a picture naming task and measured by use of electro-encephalography. A CNV is a slow, negative event-related potential known to reflect motor preparation generated by the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical (BGTC) - loop. In a previous analysis, the CNV of 25 adults with developmental stuttering (AWS) was significantly increased, especially over the right hemisphere, compared to the CNV of 35 fluent speakers (FS) when both groups were speaking fluently (Vanhoutte et al., (2015) doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.05.013). To elucidate whether this increase is a compensation strategy enabling fluent speech in AWS, the present analysis evaluated the CNV of 7 AWS who stuttered during this picture naming task. The CNV preceding AWS stuttered words was statistically compared to the CNV preceding AWS fluent words and FS fluent words. Though no difference emerged between the CNV of the AWS stuttered words and the FS fluent words, a significant reduction was observed when comparing the CNV preceding AWS stuttered words to the CNV preceding AWS fluent words. The latter seems to confirm the compensation hypothesis: the increased CNV prior to AWS fluent words is a successful compensation strategy, especially when it occurs over the right hemisphere. The words are produced fluently because of an enlarged activity during speech motor preparation. The left CNV preceding AWS stuttered words correlated negatively with stuttering frequency and severity suggestive for a link between the left BGTC - network and the stuttering pathology. Overall, speech motor preparatory activity generated by the BGTC - loop seems to have a determining role in stuttering. An important divergence between left and right hemisphere is

  3. Discrimination of Motor Imagery-Induced EEG Patterns in Patients with Complete Spinal Cord Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Pfurtscheller

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available EEG-based discrimination between different motor imagery states has been subject of a number of studies in healthy subjects. We investigated the EEG of 15 patients with complete spinal cord injury during imagined right hand, left hand, and feet movements. In detail we studied pair-wise discrimination functions between the 3 types of motor imagery. The following classification accuracies (mean ± SD were obtained: left versus right hand 65.03% ± 8.52, left hand versus feet 68.19% ± 11.08, and right hand versus feet 65.05% ± 9.25. In 5 out of 8 paralegic patients, the discrimination accuracy was greater than 70% but in only 1 out of 7 tetraplagic patients. The present findings provide evidence that in the majority of paraplegic patients an EEG-based BCI could achieve satisfied results. In tetraplegic patients, however, it is expected that extensive training-sessions are necessary to achieve a good BCI performance at least in some subjects.

  4. Functional MRI of tongue motor tasks in patients with tongue cancer: observations before and after partial glossectomy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haupage, Samantha; Branski, Ryan C.; Kraus, Dennis; Peck, Kyung K.; Hsu, Meier; Holodny, Andrei

    2010-01-01

    The current study seeks to provide preliminary data regarding this central, adaptive response during tongue motor tasks utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after glossectomy. Six patients, with confirmed histological diagnoses of oral tongue cancer, underwent fMRI before and 6 months after partial glossectomy. These data were compared to nine healthy controls. All subjects performed three tongue motor tasks during fMRI: tongue tapping (TT), dry swallow (Dry), and wet swallow (Wet). Following surgery, increased activation was subjectively observed in the superior parietal lobule, supplementary motor area, and anterior cingulate. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the precentral gyrus confirmed increased cortical activity following surgery. In addition, comparisons between pre-surgical scans and controls suggested the dry swallow task was sensitive to elicit tongue-related activation in the precentral gyrus (p ≤ 0.05). The adaptive changes in the cortex following partial glossectomy reflect recruitment of the parietal, frontal, and cingulate cortex during tongue motor tasks. In addition, post-operative activation patterns more closely approximated control levels than the pre-operative scans. Furthermore, the dry swallow task appears most specific to elicit tongue-related cortical activity. (orig.)

  5. Functional MRI of tongue motor tasks in patients with tongue cancer: observations before and after partial glossectomy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haupage, Samantha; Branski, Ryan C.; Kraus, Dennis [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Head and Neck Surgery, New York, NY (United States); Peck, Kyung K. [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Medical Physics, New York, NY (United States); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medical Physics and Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Hsu, Meier [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, New York, NY (United States); Holodny, Andrei [Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States)

    2010-12-15

    The current study seeks to provide preliminary data regarding this central, adaptive response during tongue motor tasks utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after glossectomy. Six patients, with confirmed histological diagnoses of oral tongue cancer, underwent fMRI before and 6 months after partial glossectomy. These data were compared to nine healthy controls. All subjects performed three tongue motor tasks during fMRI: tongue tapping (TT), dry swallow (Dry), and wet swallow (Wet). Following surgery, increased activation was subjectively observed in the superior parietal lobule, supplementary motor area, and anterior cingulate. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the precentral gyrus confirmed increased cortical activity following surgery. In addition, comparisons between pre-surgical scans and controls suggested the dry swallow task was sensitive to elicit tongue-related activation in the precentral gyrus (p {<=} 0.05). The adaptive changes in the cortex following partial glossectomy reflect recruitment of the parietal, frontal, and cingulate cortex during tongue motor tasks. In addition, post-operative activation patterns more closely approximated control levels than the pre-operative scans. Furthermore, the dry swallow task appears most specific to elicit tongue-related cortical activity. (orig.)

  6. Theory of mind performance in Parkinson's disease is associated with motor and cognitive functions, but not with symptom lateralization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobis, Lisa; Schindlbeck, Katharina; Ehlen, Felicitas; Tiedt, Hannes; Rewitzer, Charlotte; Duits, Annelien A; Klostermann, Fabian

    2017-09-01

    Next to the typical motor signs, Parkinson's disease (PD) goes along with neuropsychiatric symptoms, amongst others affecting social cognition. Particularly, Theory of Mind (ToM) impairments have mostly been associated with right hemispherical brain dysfunction, so that it might prevail in patients with left dominant PD. Fourty-four PD patients, twenty-four with left and twenty with right dominant motor symptoms, engaged in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) and the Faux Pas Detection Test (FPD) to assess affective and cognitive ToM. The results were correlated with performance in further cognitive tests, and analyzed with respect to associations with the side of motor symptom dominance and severity of motor symptoms. No association of ToM performance with right hemispheric dysfunction was found. RME results were inversely correlated with motor symptom severity, while FPD performance was found to correlate with the performance in verbal fluency tasks and the overall cognitive evaluation. Affective ToM was found associated with motor symptom severity and cognitive ToM predominantly with executive function, but no effect of PD lateralization on this was identified. The results suggest that deficits in social cognition occur as a sequel of the general corticobasal pathology in PD, rather than as a result of hemisphere-specific dysfunction.

  7. Motor and sensory alalia: diagnostic difficulties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Yu. Bobylova

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Alalia is a speech disorder that develops due to organic brain damage in children with normal hearing and intelligence during the first three year of life. Systemic speech underdevelopment in alalia is characterized by violations in the phonetic, phonemic, lexical, and grammatical structure. Patients with alalia can also have non-speech related impairments, including motor (impaired movement and coordination, sensory (impaired sensitivity and perception, and psychopathological disorders. There are three types of alalia: motor, sensory, and mixed. Children with motor alalia have expressive language disorders, speech praxis, poor speech fluency, impaired articulation, and other focal neurological symptoms; however, they understand speech directed to them. Patients with motor alalia are often left-handed. Regional slowing and epileptiform activity are often detected on their electroencephalogram.  Children with sensory alalia are characterized by poor speech understanding (despite normal hearing resulting in secondary underdevelopment of their own speech. These patients have problems with the analysis of sounds, including speech sounds (impaired speech gnosis, which prevents the development of association between the sound image and the object. Therefore, the child hears, but does not understand the speech directed at him/her (auditory agnosia. Differential diagnosis of alalia is challenging and may require several months of observation. It also implies the exclusion of hearing loss and mental disorders.

  8. Diffusion tensor MRI tractography reveals increased fractional anisotropy (FA) in arcuate fasciculus following music-cued motor training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Emma; Schaefer, Rebecca S; Bastin, Mark E; Roberts, Neil; Overy, Katie

    2017-08-01

    Auditory cues are frequently used to support movement learning and rehabilitation, but the neural basis of this behavioural effect is not yet clear. We investigated the microstructural neuroplasticity effects of adding musical cues to a motor learning task. We hypothesised that music-cued, left-handed motor training would increase fractional anisotropy (FA) in the contralateral arcuate fasciculus, a fibre tract connecting auditory, pre-motor and motor regions. Thirty right-handed participants were assigned to a motor learning condition either with (Music Group) or without (Control Group) musical cues. Participants completed 20minutes of training three times per week over four weeks. Diffusion tensor MRI and probabilistic neighbourhood tractography identified FA, axial (AD) and radial (RD) diffusivity before and after training. Results revealed that FA increased significantly in the right arcuate fasciculus of the Music group only, as hypothesised, with trends for AD to increase and RD to decrease, a pattern of results consistent with activity-dependent increases in myelination. No significant changes were found in the left ipsilateral arcuate fasciculus of either group. This is the first evidence that adding musical cues to movement learning can induce rapid microstructural change in white matter pathways in adults, with potential implications for therapeutic clinical practice. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Enhanced motor learning with bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation: Impact of polarity or current flow direction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naros, Georgios; Geyer, Marc; Koch, Susanne; Mayr, Lena; Ellinger, Tabea; Grimm, Florian; Gharabaghi, Alireza

    2016-04-01

    Bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) is superior to unilateral TDCS when targeting motor learning. This effect could be related to either the current flow direction or additive polarity-specific effects on each hemisphere. This sham-controlled randomized study included fifty right-handed healthy subjects in a parallel-group design who performed an exoskeleton-based motor task of the proximal left arm on three consecutive days. Prior to training, we applied either sham, right anodal (a-TDCS), left cathodal (c-TDCS), concurrent a-TDCS and c-TDCS with two independent current sources and return electrodes (double source (ds)-TDCS) or classical bilateral stimulation (bi-TDCS). Motor performance improved over time for both unilateral (a-TDCS, c-TDCS) and bilateral (bi-TDCS, ds-TDCS) TDCS montages. However, only the two bilateral paradigms led to an improvement of the final motor performance at the end of the training period as compared to the sham condition. There was no difference between the two bilateral stimulation conditions (bi-TDCS, ds-TDCS). Bilateral TDCS is more effective than unilateral stimulation due to its polarity-specific effects on each hemisphere rather than due to its current flow direction. This study is the first systematic evaluation of stimulation polarity and current flow direction of bi-hemispheric motor cortex TDCS on motor learning of proximal upper limb muscles. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Cerebral Activations Related to Writing and Drawing with Each Hand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potgieser, Adriaan R. E.; van der Hoorn, Anouk; de Jong, Bauke M.

    2015-01-01

    Background Writing is a sequential motor action based on sensorimotor integration in visuospatial and linguistic functional domains. To test the hypothesis of lateralized circuitry concerning spatial and language components involved in such action, we employed an fMRI paradigm including writing and drawing with each hand. In this way, writing-related contributions of dorsal and ventral premotor regions in each hemisphere were assessed, together with effects in wider distributed circuitry. Given a right-hemisphere dominance for spatial action, right dorsal premotor cortex dominance was expected in left-hand writing while dominance of the left ventral premotor cortex was expected during right-hand writing. Methods Sixteen healthy right-handed subjects were scanned during audition-guided writing of short sentences and simple figure drawing without visual feedback. Tapping with a pencil served as a basic control task for the two higher-order motor conditions. Activation differences were assessed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Results Writing and drawing showed parietal-premotor and posterior inferior temporal activations in both hemispheres when compared to tapping. Drawing activations were rather symmetrical for each hand. Activations in left- and right-hand writing were left-hemisphere dominant, while right dorsal premotor activation only occurred in left-hand writing, supporting a spatial motor contribution of particularly the right hemisphere. Writing contrasted to drawing revealed left-sided activations in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex, Broca’s area, pre-Supplementary Motor Area and posterior middle and inferior temporal gyri, without parietal activation. Discussion The audition-driven postero-inferior temporal activations indicated retrieval of virtual visual form characteristics in writing and drawing, with additional activation concerning word form in the left hemisphere. Similar parietal processing in writing and drawing pointed at a

  11. Cerebral activations related to writing and drawing with each hand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potgieser, Adriaan R E; van der Hoorn, Anouk; de Jong, Bauke M

    2015-01-01

    Writing is a sequential motor action based on sensorimotor integration in visuospatial and linguistic functional domains. To test the hypothesis of lateralized circuitry concerning spatial and language components involved in such action, we employed an fMRI paradigm including writing and drawing with each hand. In this way, writing-related contributions of dorsal and ventral premotor regions in each hemisphere were assessed, together with effects in wider distributed circuitry. Given a right-hemisphere dominance for spatial action, right dorsal premotor cortex dominance was expected in left-hand writing while dominance of the left ventral premotor cortex was expected during right-hand writing. Sixteen healthy right-handed subjects were scanned during audition-guided writing of short sentences and simple figure drawing without visual feedback. Tapping with a pencil served as a basic control task for the two higher-order motor conditions. Activation differences were assessed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Writing and drawing showed parietal-premotor and posterior inferior temporal activations in both hemispheres when compared to tapping. Drawing activations were rather symmetrical for each hand. Activations in left- and right-hand writing were left-hemisphere dominant, while right dorsal premotor activation only occurred in left-hand writing, supporting a spatial motor contribution of particularly the right hemisphere. Writing contrasted to drawing revealed left-sided activations in the dorsal and ventral premotor cortex, Broca's area, pre-Supplementary Motor Area and posterior middle and inferior temporal gyri, without parietal activation. The audition-driven postero-inferior temporal activations indicated retrieval of virtual visual form characteristics in writing and drawing, with additional activation concerning word form in the left hemisphere. Similar parietal processing in writing and drawing pointed at a common mechanism by which such visually

  12. Improving motor performance without training: the effect of combining mirror visual feedback with transcranial direct current stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Rein, Erik; Hoff, Maike; Kaminski, Elisabeth; Sehm, Bernhard; Steele, Christopher J; Villringer, Arno; Ragert, Patrick

    2015-04-01

    Mirror visual feedback (MVF) during motor training has been shown to improve motor performance of the untrained hand. Here we thought to determine if MVF-induced performance improvements of the left hand can be augmented by upregulating plasticity in right primary motor cortex (M1) by means of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) while subjects trained with the right hand. Participants performed a ball-rotation task with either their left (untrained) or right (trained) hand on two consecutive days (days 1 and 2). During training with the right hand, MVF was provided concurrent with two tDCS conditions: group 1 received a-tDCS over right M1 (n = 10), whereas group 2 received sham tDCS (s-tDCS, n = 10). On day 2, performance was reevaluated under the same experimental conditions compared with day 1 but without tDCS. While baseline performance of the left hand (day 1) was not different between groups, a-tDCS exhibited stronger MVF-induced performance improvements compared with s-tDCS. Similar results were observed for day 2 (without tDCS application). A control experiment (n = 8) with a-tDCS over right M1 as outlined above but without MVF revealed that left hand improvement was significantly less pronounced than that induced by combined a-tDCS and MVF. Based on these results, we provide novel evidence that upregulating activity in the untrained M1 by means of a-tDCS is capable of augmenting MVF-induced performance improvements in young normal volunteers. Our findings suggest that concurrent MVF and tDCS might have synergistic and additive effects on motor performance of the untrained hand, a result of relevance for clinical approaches in neurorehabilitation and/or exercise science. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  13. Apraxia and spatial inattention dissociate in left hemisphere stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timpert, David C; Weiss, Peter H; Vossel, Simone; Dovern, Anna; Fink, Gereon R

    2015-10-01

    Theories of lateralized cognitive functions propose a dominance of the left hemisphere for motor control and of the right hemisphere for spatial attention. Accordingly, spatial attention deficits (e.g., neglect) are more frequently observed after right-hemispheric stroke, whereas apraxia is a common consequence of left-hemispheric stroke. Clinical reports of spatial attentional deficits after left hemisphere (LH) stroke also exist, but are often neglected. By applying parallel analysis (PA) and voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) to data from a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment of 74 LH stroke patients, we here systematically investigate the relationship between spatial inattention and apraxia and their neural bases. PA revealed that apraxic (and language comprehension) deficits loaded on one common component, while deficits in attention tests were explained by another independent component. Statistical lesion analyses with the individual component scores showed that apraxic (and language comprehension) deficits were significantly associated with lesions of the left superior longitudinal fascicle (SLF). Data suggest that in LH stroke spatial attention deficits dissociate from apraxic (and language comprehension) deficits. These findings contribute to models of lateralised cognitive functions in the human brain. Moreover, our findings strongly suggest that LH stroke patients should be assessed systematically for spatial attention deficits so that these can be included in their rehabilitation regime. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Diversification of income in rural areas: the issue of supplementary activities on farms in Slovenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irma Potočnik Slavič

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available The issue on supplementary activities on farms as also their impact on farm income does not represent a new phenomena in Slovenia, but a new fluorishing wave is to be seen in the last decade in the area of diversification and extent. The article analyses the motives of accelerated development of supplementary activities, reveals the newest legislation and through the case study of farms in Ljubljana basin indicates the geographical aspect of supplementary activities on farms.

  15. Abnormal regional homogeneity in patients with essential tremor revealed by resting-state functional MRI.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weidong Fang

    Full Text Available Essential tremor (ET is one of the most common movement disorders in human adults. It can be characterized as a progressive neurological disorder of which the most recognizable feature is a tremor of the arms or hands that is apparent during voluntary movements such as eating and writing. The pathology of ET remains unclear. Resting-state fMRI (RS-fMRI, as a non-invasive imaging technique, was employed to investigate abnormalities of functional connectivity in ET in the brain. Regional homogeneity (ReHo was used as a metric of RS-fMRI to assess the local functional connectivity abnormality in ET with 20 ET patients and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC. The ET group showed decreased ReHo in the anterior and posterior bilateral cerebellar lobes, the bilateral thalamus and the insular lobe, and increased ReHo in the bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, the left primary motor cortex and left supplementary motor area. The abnormal ReHo value of ET patients in the bilateral anterior cerebellar lobes and the right posterior cerebellar lobe were negatively correlated with the tremor severity score, while positively correlated with that in the left primary motor cortex. These findings suggest that the abnormality in cerebello-thalamo-cortical motor pathway is involved in tremor generation and propagation, which may be related to motor-related symptoms in ET patients. Meanwhile, the abnormality in the prefrontal and parietal regions may be associated with non-motor symptoms in ET. These findings suggest that the ReHo could be utilized for investigations of functional-pathological mechanism of ET.

  16. Supplementary data: Eucalyptus microsatellites mined in silico ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary data: Eucalyptus microsatellites mined in silico: survey and evaluation. R. Yasodha, R. Sumathi, P. Chezhian, S. Kavitha and M. Ghosh. J. Genet. 87, XX-XX. Tm. CT. 2222. NA. 60 125. 192. Table 1. List of EST-SSR primers developed for E. globulus. No. of. Tm Product. Acc. no. SSR repeats. Forward primer.

  17. Normalized Index of Synergy for Evaluating the Coordination of Motor Commands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Togo, Shunta; Imamizu, Hiroshi

    2015-01-01

    Humans perform various motor tasks by coordinating the redundant motor elements in their bodies. The coordination of motor outputs is produced by motor commands, as well properties of the musculoskeletal system. The aim of this study was to dissociate the coordination of motor commands from motor outputs. First, we conducted simulation experiments where the total elbow torque was generated by a model of a simple human right and left elbow with redundant muscles. The results demonstrated that muscle tension with signal-dependent noise formed a coordinated structure of trial-to-trial variability of muscle tension. Therefore, the removal of signal-dependent noise effects was required to evaluate the coordination of motor commands. We proposed a method to evaluate the coordination of motor commands, which removed signal-dependent noise from the measured variability of muscle tension. We used uncontrolled manifold analysis to calculate a normalized index of synergy. Simulation experiments confirmed that the proposed method could appropriately represent the coordinated structure of the variability of motor commands. We also conducted experiments in which subjects performed the same task as in the simulation experiments. The normalized index of synergy revealed that the subjects coordinated their motor commands to achieve the task. Finally, the normalized index of synergy was applied to a motor learning task to determine the utility of the proposed method. We hypothesized that a large part of the change in the coordination of motor outputs through learning was because of changes in motor commands. In a motor learning task, subjects tracked a target trajectory of the total torque. The change in the coordination of muscle tension through learning was dominated by that of motor commands, which supported the hypothesis. We conclude that the normalized index of synergy can be used to evaluate the coordination of motor commands independently from the properties of the

  18. Failure of supplementary ultraviolet radiation to enhance flower color under greenhouse conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klein, R. M. [University of Vermont, Burlington, VT (United States)

    1990-03-15

    In order to determine whether the concentration of floral petal anthocyanin pigments could be increased, ultraviolet radiations in the UV-A and UV-B wavelength bands were presented to a variety of flowering plants to partly restore those wavelengths filtered out by greenhouse glass. In no tested plant did the supplementary ultraviolet radiation enhance floral anthocyanin content. Supplementary UV radiation has no economic value in greenhouse production of flowering plants. (author)

  19. Programming of left hand exploits task set but that of right hand depends on recent history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Rixin; Zhu, Hong

    2017-07-01

    There are many differences between the left hand and the right hand. But it is not clear if there is a difference in programming between left hand and right hand when the hands perform the same movement. In current study, we carried out two experiments to investigate whether the programming of two hands was equivalent or they exploited different strategies. In the first experiment, participants were required to use one hand to grasp an object with visual feedback or to point to the center of one object without visual feedback on alternate trials, or to grasp an object without visual feedback and to point the center of one object with visual feedback on alternating trials. They then performed the tasks with the other hand. The result was that previous pointing task affected current grasping when it was performed by the left hand, but not the right hand. In experiment 2, we studied if the programming of the left (or right) hand would be affected by the pointing task performed on the previous trial not only by the same hand, but also by the right (or left) hand. Participants pointed and grasped the objects alternately with two hands. The result was similar with Experiment 1, i.e., left-hand grasping was affected by right-hand pointing, whereas right-hand grasping was immune from the interference from left hand. Taken together, the results suggest that when open- and closed-loop trials are interleaved, motor programming of grasping with the right hand was affected by the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial only if it was a grasping trial, suggesting that the trial-to-trial transfer depends on sensorimotor memory and not on task set. In contrast, motor programming of grasping with the left hand can use information about the nature of the online feedback on the previous trial to specify the parameters of the movement, even when the type of movement that occurred was quite different (i.e., pointing) and was performed with the right hand. This suggests that

  20. Maturation of Sensori-Motor Functional Responses in the Preterm Brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allievi, Alessandro G; Arichi, Tomoki; Tusor, Nora; Kimpton, Jessica; Arulkumaran, Sophie; Counsell, Serena J; Edwards, A David; Burdet, Etienne

    2016-01-01

    Preterm birth engenders an increased risk of conditions like cerebral palsy and therefore this time may be crucial for the brain's developing sensori-motor system. However, little is known about how cortical sensori-motor function matures at this time, whether development is influenced by experience, and about its role in spontaneous motor behavior. We aimed to systematically characterize spatial and temporal maturation of sensori-motor functional brain activity across this period using functional MRI and a custom-made robotic stimulation device. We studied 57 infants aged from 30 + 2 to 43 + 2 weeks postmenstrual age. Following both induced and spontaneous right wrist movements, we saw consistent positive blood oxygen level-dependent functional responses in the contralateral (left) primary somatosensory and motor cortices. In addition, we saw a maturational trend toward faster, higher amplitude, and more spatially dispersed functional responses; and increasing integration of the ipsilateral hemisphere and sensori-motor associative areas. We also found that interhemispheric functional connectivity was significantly related to ex-utero exposure, suggesting the influence of experience-dependent mechanisms. At term equivalent age, we saw a decrease in both response amplitude and interhemispheric functional connectivity, and an increase in spatial specificity, culminating in the establishment of a sensori-motor functional response similar to that seen in adults. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  1. Cerebro-cerebellar interactions underlying temporal information processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aso, Kenji; Hanakawa, Takashi; Aso, Toshihiko; Fukuyama, Hidenao

    2010-12-01

    The neural basis of temporal information processing remains unclear, but it is proposed that the cerebellum plays an important role through its internal clock or feed-forward computation functions. In this study, fMRI was used to investigate the brain networks engaged in perceptual and motor aspects of subsecond temporal processing without accompanying coprocessing of spatial information. Direct comparison between perceptual and motor aspects of time processing was made with a categorical-design analysis. The right lateral cerebellum (lobule VI) was active during a time discrimination task, whereas the left cerebellar lobule VI was activated during a timed movement generation task. These findings were consistent with the idea that the cerebellum contributed to subsecond time processing in both perceptual and motor aspects. The feed-forward computational theory of the cerebellum predicted increased cerebro-cerebellar interactions during time information processing. In fact, a psychophysiological interaction analysis identified the supplementary motor and dorsal premotor areas, which had a significant functional connectivity with the right cerebellar region during a time discrimination task and with the left lateral cerebellum during a timed movement generation task. The involvement of cerebro-cerebellar interactions may provide supportive evidence that temporal information processing relies on the simulation of timing information through feed-forward computation in the cerebellum.

  2. [Left lateral gaze paresis due to subcortical hematoma in the right precentral gyrus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, K; Takamori, M

    1998-03-01

    We report a case of transient left lateral gaze paresis due to a hemorrhagic lesion restricted in the right precentral gyrus. A 74-year-old female experienced a sudden clumsiness of the left upper extremity. A neurological examination revealed a left central facial paresis, distal dominant muscle weakness in the left upper limb and left lateral gaze paresis. There were no other focal neurological signs. Laboratory data were all normal. Brain CTs and MRIs demonstrated a subcortical hematoma in the right precentral gyrus. The neurological symptoms and signs disappeared over seven days. A recent physiological study suggested that the human frontal eye field (FEF) is located in the posterior part of the middle frontal gyrus (Brodmann's area 8) and the precentral gyrus around the precentral sulcus. More recent studies stressed the role of the precentral sulcus and the precentral gyrus. Our case supports those physiological findings. The hematoma affected both the FEF and its underlying white matter in our case. We assume the lateral gaze paresis is attributable to the disruption of the fibers from the FEF. It is likely that fibers for motor control of the face, upper extremity, and lateral gaze lie adjacently in the subcortical area.

  3. 1 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION A novel zinc(II) complex ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    BİLGİSAYAR

    1. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. A novel zinc(II) complex containing square pyramidal, octahedral and tetrahedral geometries on the same polymeric chain constructed from pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid and 1-vinylimidazole. HAKAN YILMAZ* and OMER ANDAC. Department of Chemistry, Ondokuz Mayis University, ...

  4. 40 CFR 152.406 - Submission of supplementary data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Submission of supplementary data. 152.406 Section 152.406 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS PESTICIDE REGISTRATION AND CLASSIFICATION PROCEDURES Registration Fees § 152.406 Submission of...

  5. Sleep-related modifications of EEG connectivity in the sensory-motor networks in Huntington Disease: An eLORETA study and review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piano, Carla; Imperatori, Claudio; Losurdo, Anna; Bentivoglio, Anna Rita; Cortelli, Pietro; Della Marca, Giacomo

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate EEG functional connectivity in the sensory-motor network, during wake and sleep, in patients with Huntington Disease (HD). 23 patients with HD and 23 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled. EEG connectivity analysis was performed by means of exact Low Resolution Electric Tomography (eLORETA). In wake, HD patients showed an increase of delta lagged phase synchronization (T=3.60; p<0.05) among Broadman's Areas (BA) 6-8 bilaterally; right BA 6-8 and right BA 1-2-3; left BA 1-2-3 and left BA 4. In NREM, HD patients showed an increase of delta lagged phase synchronization (T=3.56; p<0.05) among left BA 1-2-3 and right BA 6-8. In REM, HD patients showed an increase of lagged phase synchronization (T=3.60; p<0.05) among the BA 6-8 bilaterally (delta band); left BA 1-2-3 and right BA 1-2-3 (theta); left BA 1-2-3 and right BA 4 (theta); left BA 1-2-3 and right BA 1-2-3 (alpha). Our results may reflect an abnormal function of the motor areas or an effort to counterbalance the pathological motor output. Our results may help to understand the pathophysiology of sleep-related movement disorders in Huntington's Disease, and to define therapeutically strategies. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Mapping preclinical compensation in Parkinson's disease: an imaging genomics approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Nuenen, Bart F L; van Eimeren, Thilo; van der Vegt, Joyce P M

    2009-01-01

    development of overt disease. In two separate experiments, Parkin mutation carriers displayed stronger activation of rostral supplementary motor area (SMA) and right dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) during a simple motor sequence task and anterior cingulate motor area and left rostral PMd during internal movement....... Extensions of this line of research involve fMRI paradigms probing nonmotor brain functions. Additionally, the same fMRI paradigms should be applied to nonmanifesting mutation carriers in genes linked to autosomal dominant PD. This will help to determine how "generically" the human brain compensates......Mutations in the Parkin (PARK2) and PINK1 gene (PARK 6) can cause recessively inherited Parkinson's disease (PD). The presence of a single Parkin or PINK1 mutation is associated with a dopaminergic nigrostriatal dysfunction and conveys an increased risk to develop PD throughout lifetime. Therefore...

  7. A case of expressive-vocal amusia in a right-handed patient with left hemispheric cerebral infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uetsuki, Shizuka; Kinoshita, Hiroshi; Takahashi, Ryuichi; Obata, Satoshi; Kakigi, Tatsuya; Wada, Yoshiko; Yokoyama, Kazumasa

    2016-03-01

    A 53-year-old right-handed woman had an extensive lesion in the left hemisphere due to an infarction caused by vasospasm secondary to subarachnoid bleeding. She exhibited persistent expressive-vocal amusia with no symptoms of aphasia. Evaluation of the patient's musical competence using the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia, rhythm reproduction tests, acoustic analysis of pitch upon singing familiar music, Japanese standard language tests, and other detailed clinical examinations revealed that her amusia was more dominantly related to pitch production. The intactness of her speech provided strong evidence that the right hemisphere played a major role in her linguistic processing. Data from functional magnetic resonance imaging while she was singing a familiar song, a scale, and reciting lyrics indicated that perilesional residual activation in the left hemisphere was associated with poor pitch production, while right hemispheric activation was involved in linguistic processing. The localization of infarction more anterior to the left Sylvian fissure might be related to the dominant deficits in expressive aspects of the singing of the patient. Compromised motor programming producing a single tone may have made a major contribution to her poor singing. Imperfect auditory feedback due to borderline perceptual ability or improper audio-motor associations might also have played a role. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Provision of supplementary food for wild birds may increase the risk of local nest predation

    OpenAIRE

    Hanmer, Hugh J.; Thomas, Rebecca L.; Fellowes, Mark D. E.

    2017-01-01

    In countries such as the UK, USA and Australia, approximately half of households provide supplementary food for wild birds, making this the public’s most common form of active engagement with nature. Year round supplementary feeding is currently encouraged by major conservation charities in the UK as it is thought to be of benefit to bird conservation. However, little is understood of how the provision of supplementary food affects the behaviour and ecology of target and non-target species. G...

  9. Grasping Ideas with the Motor System: Semantic Somatotopy in Idiom Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauk, Olaf; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2009-01-01

    Single words and sentences referring to bodily actions activate the motor cortex. However, this semantic grounding of concrete language does not address the critical question whether the sensory–motor system contributes to the processing of abstract meaning and thought. We examined functional magnetic resonance imaging activation to idioms and literal sentences including arm- and leg-related action words. A common left fronto-temporal network was engaged in sentence reading, with idioms yielding relatively stronger activity in (pre)frontal and middle temporal cortex. Crucially, somatotopic activation along the motor strip, in central and precentral cortex, was elicited by idiomatic and literal sentences, reflecting the body part reference of the words embedded in the sentences. Semantic somatotopy was most pronounced after sentence ending, thus reflecting sentence-level processing rather than that of single words. These results indicate that semantic representations grounded in the sensory–motor system play a role in the composition of sentence-level meaning, even in the case of idioms. PMID:19068489

  10. Using electrical and optical tweezers to facilitate studies of molecular motors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arsenault, Mark E; Sun, Yujie; Bau, Haim H; Goldman, Yale E

    2009-06-28

    Dielectrophoresis was used to stretch and suspend actin filaments across a trench etched between two electrodes patterned on a glass slide. Optical tweezers were used to bring a motor protein-coated bead into close proximity to a pre-selected, suspended actin filament, facilitating the attachment of the myosin-coated bead to the filament. The clearance beneath the filament allowed the bead to move freely along and around its filamentous track, unhindered by solid surfaces. Using defocused images, the three-dimensional position of the bead was tracked as a function of time to obtain its trajectory. Experiments were carried out with myosin V and myosin X. Both motor proteins followed left-handed helical paths with the myosin X motor exhibiting a shorter pitch than the myosin V. The combined use of electrostatic and optical tweezers facilitates the preparation of motility assays with suspended tracks. Variants of this technique will enable higher complexity experiments in vitro to better understand the behavior of motors in cells.

  11. Structural brain correlates associated with professional handball playing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hänggi, Jürgen; Langer, Nicolas; Lutz, Kai; Birrer, Karin; Mérillat, Susan; Jäncke, Lutz

    2015-01-01

    There is no doubt that good bimanual performance is very important for skilled handball playing. The control of the non-dominant hand is especially demanding since efficient catching and throwing needs both hands. We investigated training-induced structural neuroplasticity in professional handball players using several structural neuroimaging techniques and analytic approaches and also provide a review of the literature about sport-induced structural neuroplastic alterations. Structural brain adaptations were expected in regions relevant for motor and somatosensory processing such as the grey matter (GM) of the primary/secondary motor (MI/supplementary motor area, SMA) and somatosensory cortex (SI/SII), basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum and in the white matter (WM) of the corticospinal tract (CST) and corpus callosum, stronger in brain regions controlling the non-dominant left hand. Increased GM volume in handball players compared with control subjects were found in the right MI/SI, bilateral SMA/cingulate motor area, and left intraparietal sulcus. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity were increased within the right CST in handball players compared with control women. Age of handball training commencement correlated inversely with GM volume in the right and left MI/SI and years of handball training experience correlated inversely with radial diffusivity in the right CST. Subcortical structures tended to be larger in handball players. The anatomical measures of the brain regions associated with handball playing were positively correlated in handball players, but not interrelated in control women. Training-induced structural alterations were found in the somatosensory-motor network of handball players, more pronounced in the right hemisphere controlling the non-dominant left hand. Correlations between handball training-related measures and anatomical differences suggest neuroplastic adaptations rather than a genetic predisposition for a ball playing

  12. Structural brain correlates associated with professional handball playing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jürgen Hänggi

    Full Text Available There is no doubt that good bimanual performance is very important for skilled handball playing. The control of the non-dominant hand is especially demanding since efficient catching and throwing needs both hands.We investigated training-induced structural neuroplasticity in professional handball players using several structural neuroimaging techniques and analytic approaches and also provide a review of the literature about sport-induced structural neuroplastic alterations. Structural brain adaptations were expected in regions relevant for motor and somatosensory processing such as the grey matter (GM of the primary/secondary motor (MI/supplementary motor area, SMA and somatosensory cortex (SI/SII, basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum and in the white matter (WM of the corticospinal tract (CST and corpus callosum, stronger in brain regions controlling the non-dominant left hand.Increased GM volume in handball players compared with control subjects were found in the right MI/SI, bilateral SMA/cingulate motor area, and left intraparietal sulcus. Fractional anisotropy (FA and axial diffusivity were increased within the right CST in handball players compared with control women. Age of handball training commencement correlated inversely with GM volume in the right and left MI/SI and years of handball training experience correlated inversely with radial diffusivity in the right CST. Subcortical structures tended to be larger in handball players. The anatomical measures of the brain regions associated with handball playing were positively correlated in handball players, but not interrelated in control women.Training-induced structural alterations were found in the somatosensory-motor network of handball players, more pronounced in the right hemisphere controlling the non-dominant left hand. Correlations between handball training-related measures and anatomical differences suggest neuroplastic adaptations rather than a genetic predisposition for a

  13. Structural Brain Correlates Associated with Professional Handball Playing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hänggi, Jürgen; Langer, Nicolas; Lutz, Kai; Birrer, Karin; Mérillat, Susan; Jäncke, Lutz

    2015-01-01

    Background There is no doubt that good bimanual performance is very important for skilled handball playing. The control of the non-dominant hand is especially demanding since efficient catching and throwing needs both hands. Methodology/Hypotheses We investigated training-induced structural neuroplasticity in professional handball players using several structural neuroimaging techniques and analytic approaches and also provide a review of the literature about sport-induced structural neuroplastic alterations. Structural brain adaptations were expected in regions relevant for motor and somatosensory processing such as the grey matter (GM) of the primary/secondary motor (MI/supplementary motor area, SMA) and somatosensory cortex (SI/SII), basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum and in the white matter (WM) of the corticospinal tract (CST) and corpus callosum, stronger in brain regions controlling the non-dominant left hand. Results Increased GM volume in handball players compared with control subjects were found in the right MI/SI, bilateral SMA/cingulate motor area, and left intraparietal sulcus. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and axial diffusivity were increased within the right CST in handball players compared with control women. Age of handball training commencement correlated inversely with GM volume in the right and left MI/SI and years of handball training experience correlated inversely with radial diffusivity in the right CST. Subcortical structures tended to be larger in handball players. The anatomical measures of the brain regions associated with handball playing were positively correlated in handball players, but not interrelated in control women. Discussion/Conclusion Training-induced structural alterations were found in the somatosensory-motor network of handball players, more pronounced in the right hemisphere controlling the non-dominant left hand. Correlations between handball training-related measures and anatomical differences suggest neuroplastic

  14. Brain network of semantic integration in sentence reading: insights from independent component analysis and graph theoretical analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Zheng; Doñamayor, Nuria; Münte, Thomas F

    2014-02-01

    A set of cortical and sub-cortical brain structures has been linked with sentence-level semantic processes. However, it remains unclear how these brain regions are organized to support the semantic integration of a word into sentential context. To look into this issue, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that required participants to silently read sentences with semantically congruent or incongruent endings and analyzed the network properties of the brain with two approaches, independent component analysis (ICA) and graph theoretical analysis (GTA). The GTA suggested that the whole-brain network is topologically stable across conditions. The ICA revealed a network comprising the supplementary motor area (SMA), left inferior frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, and left angular gyrus, which was modulated by the incongruity of sentence ending. Furthermore, the GTA specified that the connections between the left SMA and left caudate nucleus as well as that between the left caudate nucleus and right thalamus were stronger in response to incongruent vs. congruent endings. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. The Influence of Parkinson’s Disease Motor Symptom Asymmetry on Hand Performance: An Examination of the Grooved Pegboard Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara M. Scharoun

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the influence of motor symptom asymmetry in Parkinson’s disease (PD on Grooved Pegboard (GP performance in right-handed participants. The Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale was used to assess motor symptoms and separate participants with PD into two groups (right-arm affected, left-arm affected for comparison with a group of healthy older adults. Participants completed the place and replace GP tasks two times with both hands. Laterality quotients were computed to quantify performance differences between the two hands. Comparisons among the three groups indicated that when the nonpreferred hand is affected by PD motor symptoms, superior preferred hand performance (as seen in healthy older adults is further exaggerated in tasks that require precision (i.e., place task. Regardless of the task, when the preferred hand is affected, there is an evident shift to superior left-hand performance, which may inevitably manifest as a switch in hand preference. Results add to the discussion of the relationship between handedness and motor symptom asymmetry in PD.

  16. Supplementary data: Development of nuclear DNA markers for ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary data: Development of nuclear DNA markers for evolutionary studies in Plasmodium falciparum. Celia Thomas, Sneh Shalini, N. Raghavendra, Meenakshi Choudhary, Anju Verma, Hema Joshi,. A. P. Dash and Aparup Das. J. Genet. 86, 65–68. Primer sequences for amplification of putatively neutral ...

  17. Dizzy people perform no worse at a motor imagery task requiring whole body mental rotation; a case-control comparison

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah B Wallwork

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available We wanted to find out whether people who suffer from dizziness take longer than people who do not, to perform a motor imagery task that involves implicit whole body rotation. Our prediction was that people in the ‘dizzy’ group would take longer at a left/right neck rotation judgment task but not a left/right hand judgment task, because actually performing the former, but not the latter, would exacerbate their dizziness. Secondly, we predicted that when dizzy participants responded to neck rotation images, responses would be greatest when images were in the upside-down orientation; an orientation with greatest dizzy-provoking potential. To test this idea, we used a case-control comparison design. One hundred and eighteen participants who suffered from dizziness and 118 age, gender, arm pain and neck pain matched controls took part in the study. Participants undertook two motor imagery tasks; a left/right neck rotation judgment task and a left/right hand judgment task. The tasks were completed using the Recognise program; an on-line reaction time task program. Images of neck rotation were shown in four different orientations; 0°, 90°, 180° and 270°. Participants were asked to respond to each ‘neck’ image identifying it as either ‘right neck rotation’ or a ‘left neck rotation’, or for hands, a right or a left hand. Results showed that participants in the ‘dizzy’ group were slower than controls at both tasks (p= 0.015, but this was not related to task (p= 0.498. Similarly, ‘dizzy’ participants were not proportionally worse at images of different orientations (p= 0.878. Our findings suggest impaired performance in dizzy people, an impairment that may be confined to motor imagery or may extend more generally.

  18. Supplementary data: A complete mitochondrial genome of wheat ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary data: A complete mitochondrial genome of wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Chinese Yumai), and fast evolving mitochondrial genes in higher plants. Peng Cui, Huitao Liu, Qiang Lin, Feng Ding, Guoyin Zhuo, Songnian Hu, Dongcheng Liu, Wenlong Yang, Kehui Zhan,. Aimin Zhang and Jun Yu. J. Genet.

  19. Supplementary data: Genotype–phenotype relationship of F7 ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary data: Genotype–phenotype relationship of F7 R353Q polymorphism and plasma FVII.c levels in Asian Indian families predisposed to coronary artery disease. Jayashree Shanker, Ganapathy Perumal, Arindam Maitra, Veena S. Rao, B. K. Natesha, Shibu John,. Sridhar Hebbagodi and Vijay V. Kakkar.

  20. Supplementary data: Development of SSR markers and construction ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary data: Development of SSR markers and construction of a linkage map in jute. Moumita Das, Sumana Banerjee, Raman Dhariwal, Shailendra Vyas, Reyazul R. Mir, Niladri Topdar, Avijit Kundu, Jitendra P. Khurana, Akhilesh K. Tyagi,. Debabrata Sarkar, Mohit K. Sinha, Harindra S. Balyan and Pushpendra K.

  1. Gray matter morphological anomalies in the cerebellar vermis in first-episode schizophrenia patients with cognitive deficits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jingjuan; Zhou, Li; Cui, Chunlei; Liu, Zhening; Lu, Jie

    2017-11-22

    Cognitive deficits are a core feature of early schizophrenia. However, the pathological foundations underlying cognitive deficits are still unknown. The present study examined the association between gray matter density and cognitive deficits in first-episode schizophrenia. Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the brain was performed in 34 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 21 healthy controls. Patients were divided into two subgroups according to working memory task performance. The three groups were well matched for age, gender, and education, and the two patient groups were also further matched for diagnosis, duration of illness, and antipsychotic treatment. Voxel-based morphometric analysis was performed to estimate changes in gray matter density in first-episode schizophrenia patients with cognitive deficits. The relationships between gray matter density and clinical outcomes were explored. Patients with cognitive deficits were found to have reduced gray matter density in the vermis and tonsil of cerebellum compared with patients without cognitive deficits and healthy controls, decreased gray matter density in left supplementary motor area, bilateral precentral gyrus compared with patients without cognitive deficits. Classifier results showed GMD in cerebellar vermis tonsil cluster could differentiate SZ-CD from controls, left supplementary motor area cluster could differentiate SZ-CD from SZ-NCD. Gray matter density values of the cerebellar vermis cluster in patients groups were positively correlated with cognitive severity. Decreased gray matter density in the vermis and tonsil of cerebellum may underlie early psychosis and serve as a candidate biomarker for schizophrenia with cognitive deficits.

  2. Strong rightward lateralization of the dorsal attentional network in left-handers with right sighting-eye: an evolutionary advantage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, Laurent; Zago, Laure; Mellet, Emmanuel; Jobard, Gaël; Crivello, Fabrice; Joliot, Marc; Mazoyer, Bernard; Tzourio-Mazoyer, Nathalie

    2015-03-01

    Hemispheric lateralization for spatial attention and its relationships with manual preference strength and eye preference were studied in a sample of 293 healthy individuals balanced for manual preference. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to map this large sample while performing visually guided saccadic eye movements. This activated a bilateral distributed cortico-subcortical network in which dorsal and ventral attentional/saccadic pathways elicited rightward asymmetrical activation depending on manual preference strength and sighting eye. While the ventral pathway showed a strong rightward asymmetry irrespective of both manual preference strength and eye preference, the dorsal frontoparietal network showed a robust rightward asymmetry in strongly left-handers, even more pronounced in left-handed subjects with a right sighting-eye. Our findings brings support to the hypothesis that the origin of the rightward hemispheric dominance for spatial attention may have a manipulo-spatial origin neither perceptual nor motor per se but rather reflecting a mechanism by which a spatial context is mapped onto the perceptual and motor activities, including the exploration of the spatial environment with eyes and hands. Within this context, strongly left-handers with a right sighting-eye may benefit from the advantage of having the same right hemispheric control of their dominant hand and visuospatial attention processing. We suggest that this phenomenon explains why left-handed right sighting-eye athletes can outperform their competitors in sporting duels and that the prehistoric and historical constancy of the left-handers ratio over the general population may relate in part on the hemispheric specialization of spatial attention. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Effects of TMS on different stages of motor and non-motor verb processing in the primary motor cortex.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liuba Papeo

    Full Text Available The embodied cognition hypothesis suggests that motor and premotor areas are automatically and necessarily involved in understanding action language, as word conceptual representations are embodied. This transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS study explores the role of the left primary motor cortex in action-verb processing. TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials from right-hand muscles were recorded as a measure of M1 activity, while participants were asked either to judge explicitly whether a verb was action-related (semantic task or to decide on the number of syllables in a verb (syllabic task. TMS was applied in three different experiments at 170, 350 and 500 ms post-stimulus during both tasks to identify when the enhancement of M1 activity occurred during word processing. The delays between stimulus onset and magnetic stimulation were consistent with electrophysiological studies, suggesting that word recognition can be differentiated into early (within 200 ms and late (within 400 ms lexical-semantic stages, and post-conceptual stages. Reaction times and accuracy were recorded to measure the extent to which the participants' linguistic performance was affected by the interference of TMS with M1 activity. No enhancement of M1 activity specific for action verbs was found at 170 and 350 ms post-stimulus, when lexical-semantic processes are presumed to occur (Experiments 1-2. When TMS was applied at 500 ms post-stimulus (Experiment 3, processing action verbs, compared with non-action verbs, increased the M1-activity in the semantic task and decreased it in the syllabic task. This effect was specific for hand-action verbs and was not observed for action-verbs related to other body parts. Neither accuracy nor RTs were affected by TMS. These findings suggest that the lexical-semantic processing of action verbs does not automatically activate the M1. This area seems to be rather involved in post-conceptual processing that follows the retrieval of motor

  4. Supplementary material for: The adaptive synchronization of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Supplementary material for: The adaptive synchronization of fractional-order Liu chaotic system with unknown parameters. ADELEH NOURIAN and SAEED BALOCHIAN. -50. -40. -30. -20. -10. 0. 10. 20. 30. 40. -25. -20. -15. -10. -5. 0. 5. 10. 15. 20. 25. Y. Z. -12. -10. -8. -6. -4. -2. 0. 2. 4. 6. 8. -25. -20. -15. -10. -5. 0. 5. 10. 15.

  5. Primary Motor Cortex Excitability Is Modulated During the Mental Simulation of Hand Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyde, Christian; Fuelscher, Ian; Lum, Jarrad A G; Williams, Jacqueline; He, Jason; Enticott, Peter G

    2017-02-01

    It is unclear whether the primary motor cortex (PMC) is involved in the mental simulation of movement [i.e., motor imagery (MI)]. The present study aimed to clarify PMC involvement using a highly novel adaptation of the hand laterality task (HLT). Participants were administered single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the hand area of the left PMC (hPMC) at either 50 ms, 400 ms, or 650 ms post stimulus presentation. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous via electromyography. To avoid the confound of gross motor response, participant response (indicating left or right hand) was recorded via eye tracking. Participants were 22 healthy adults (18 to 36 years), 16 whose behavioral profile on the HLT was consistent with the use of a MI strategy (MI users). hPMC excitability increased significantly during HLT performance for MI users, evidenced by significantly larger right hand MEPs following single-pulse TMS 50 ms, 400 ms, and 650 ms post stimulus presentation relative to baseline. Subsequent analysis showed that hPMC excitability was greater for more complex simulated hand movements, where hand MEPs at 50 ms were larger for biomechanically awkward movements (i.e., hands requiring lateral rotation) compared to simpler movements (i.e., hands requiring medial rotation). These findings provide support for the modulation of PMC excitability during the HLT attributable to MI, and may indicate a role for the PMC during MI. (JINS, 2017, 23, 185-193).

  6. Estimation of temporary change of activation areas by moving an analysis time window in fMRI measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukami, Tadanori; Shimada, Takamasa; Akatsuka, Takao; Ishikawa, Fumito; Saito, Yoichi

    2004-12-01

    In this paper, we propose a method to acquire temporal changes of activations by moving an analysis time window. An advantage of this method is that it can acquire rough changes of activated areas even with the data having low time resolution. We ascertained that activations from our method do not contradict previous reports on the oddball paradigm, thus showing its effectiveness. Eight normal subjects participated in the study, which consisted of a random series of 30 target and 70 nontarget stimuli. We investigated the activated area in three kinds of analysis time sections, from stimulus onset to 5 s after the stimulus (time section A), from 2 to 7 s after (B) and from 4 to 9 s after (C). In time section A, representative activated areas were regions including the left and supplementary motor areas (SMA), and cerebellum. In B, regions including the left motor area and SMA, right parahippocampal gyrus (Broadmann Area (BA) 30), right limbic lobe and cerebellum were activated. In C, bilaterally postcentral gyrus (BA 3,40), right anterior cingulate (ACC, BA 32), left middle frontal gyrus (BA 9) and right parahippocampal gyrus were activated. Most activations were consistent with previous studies.

  7. The connection of hemispheric activity in the field of audioverbal perception and the progressive lateralization of speech and motor processes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kovyazina, M.S.

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the connection of hemispheric control over audioverbal perception processes and such individual features as “leading hand” (right-handedness and lefthandedness. We present a literature review and description of our research to provide evidence of the complexity and ambiguity of this connection. The method of dichotic listening was used for diagnosing audioverbal perception lateralization. This method allows estimation of the right-ear coefficient (REC, the efficiency coefficient (EC, and the effectiveness ratio (ER of different aspects of audioverbal perception. Our research involved 47 persons with a leading right hand (mean age, 29.04±9.97 years and 32 persons with a leading left hand (mean age, 29.41±10.34 years. Different hypotheses about the mechanisms of hemispheric control over audioverbal and motor processes were assessed. The research showed that both the leftand right-handers’ audioverbal perception characteristics depended mainly on right-hemisphere activity. The most dynamic and sensitive index of the functioning of the two hemispheres during dichotic listening was the efficiency coefficient of stimuli reproduction through the left ear (EC of the left ear. It turns out that this index depends on the coincidence/noncoincidence of the leading hemispheres in speech and motor processes. The highest efficiency of audioverbal perception revealed itself in the left-handers with a leading left ear (the hemispheric-control coincidence, and the lowest efficiency was in the left-handers with a leading right ear (the hemispheric-control divergence. The right-handers were characterized by less variation in values, although the influence of the coincidence/noncoincidence of the leading hemispheres in speech and motor processes also revealed itself as a tendency. This consistent pattern points out the necessity for further research on asymmetries of the different modalities that takes into account their probable

  8. Motor and linguistic linking of space and time in the cerebellum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveri, Massimiliano; Bonnì, Sonia; Turriziani, Patrizia; Koch, Giacomo; Lo Gerfo, Emanuele; Torriero, Sara; Vicario, Carmelo Mario; Petrosini, Laura; Caltagirone, Carlo

    2009-11-20

    Recent literature documented the presence of spatial-temporal interactions in the human brain. The aim of the present study was to verify whether representation of past and future is also mapped onto spatial representations and whether the cerebellum may be a neural substrate for linking space and time in the linguistic domain. We asked whether processing of the tense of a verb is influenced by the space where response takes place and by the semantics of the verb. Responses to past tense were facilitated in the left space while responses to future tense were facilitated in the right space. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the right cerebellum selectively slowed down responses to future tense of action verbs; rTMS of both cerebellar hemispheres decreased accuracy of responses to past tense in the left space and to future tense in the right space for non-verbs, and to future tense in the right space for state verbs. The results suggest that representation of past and future is mapped onto spatial formats and that motor action could represent the link between spatial and temporal dimensions. Right cerebellar, left motor brain networks could be part of the prospective brain, whose primary function is to use past experiences to anticipate future events. Both cerebellar hemispheres could play a role in establishing the grammatical rules for verb conjugation.

  9. A comparison of results of empirical studies of supplementary search techniques and recommendations in review methodology handbooks: a methodological review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Chris; Booth, Andrew; Britten, Nicky; Garside, Ruth

    2017-11-28

    The purpose and contribution of supplementary search methods in systematic reviews is increasingly acknowledged. Numerous studies have demonstrated their potential in identifying studies or study data that would have been missed by bibliographic database searching alone. What is less certain is how supplementary search methods actually work, how they are applied, and the consequent advantages, disadvantages and resource implications of each search method. The aim of this study is to compare current practice in using supplementary search methods with methodological guidance. Four methodological handbooks in informing systematic review practice in the UK were read and audited to establish current methodological guidance. Studies evaluating the use of supplementary search methods were identified by searching five bibliographic databases. Studies were included if they (1) reported practical application of a supplementary search method (descriptive) or (2) examined the utility of a supplementary search method (analytical) or (3) identified/explored factors that impact on the utility of a supplementary method, when applied in practice. Thirty-five studies were included in this review in addition to the four methodological handbooks. Studies were published between 1989 and 2016, and dates of publication of the handbooks ranged from 1994 to 2014. Five supplementary search methods were reviewed: contacting study authors, citation chasing, handsearching, searching trial registers and web searching. There is reasonable consistency between recommended best practice (handbooks) and current practice (methodological studies) as it relates to the application of supplementary search methods. The methodological studies provide useful information on the effectiveness of the supplementary search methods, often seeking to evaluate aspects of the method to improve effectiveness or efficiency. In this way, the studies advance the understanding of the supplementary search methods. Further

  10. Production response of lambing ewes receiving supplementary feed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Unknown

    Introduction. In the past, several experiments were conducted at the Langgewens Experimental Farm in the Swartland area of the Western Cape to evaluate different types of supplementary feed for producing ewes while grazing low quality crop residues during the dry summer and early autumn months (Brand, et al, 2000).

  11. Characteristics, Effectiveness, and Prospects of Supplementary Professional Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kliucharev, Grigorii Arturovich

    2010-01-01

    Today the system of supplementary professional education (SPE) is the main institutionalized subunit that is oriented toward "adult learners". Surveys have shown that in many cases investment in SPE is more profitable, predictable, reliable, and short term than that in any other form of education. Data on supplemental professional…

  12. Hand dominance and age have interactive effects on motor cortical representations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica A Bernard

    Full Text Available Older adults exhibit more bilateral motor cortical activity during unimanual task performance than young adults. Interestingly, a similar pattern is seen in young adults with reduced hand dominance. However, older adults report stronger hand dominance than young adults, making it unclear how handedness is manifested in the aging motor cortex. Here, we investigated age differences in the relationships between handedness, motor cortical organization, and interhemispheric communication speed. We hypothesized that relationships between these variables would differ for young and older adults, consistent with our recent proposal of an age-related shift in interhemispheric interactions. We mapped motor cortical representations of the right and left first dorsal interosseous muscles using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS in young and older adults recruited to represent a broad range of the handedness spectrum. We also measured interhemispheric communication speed and bimanual coordination. We observed that more strongly handed older adults exhibited more ipsilateral motor activity in response to TMS; this effect was not present in young adults. Furthermore, we found opposing relationships between interhemispheric communication speed and bimanual performance in the two age groups. Thus, handedness manifests itself differently in the motor cortices of young and older adults and has interactive effects with age.

  13. Differential actigraphy for monitoring asymmetry in upper limb motor activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabuffetti, M; Meriggi, P; Pagliari, C; Bartolomeo, P; Ferrarin, M

    2016-09-21

    Most applications of accelerometry-based actigraphy require a single sensor, properly located onto the body, to estimate, for example, the level of activity or the energy expenditure. Some approaches adopt a multi-sensor setup to improve those analyses or to classify different types of activity. The specific case of two symmetrically placed actigraphs allowing, by some kind of differential analysis, for the assessment of asymmetric motor behaviors, has been considered in relatively few studies. This article presents a novel method for differential actigraphy, which requires the synchronized measurements of two triaxial accelerometers (programmable eZ430-Chronos, Texas Instruments, USA) placed symmetrically on both wrists. The method involved the definition of a robust epoch-related activity index and its implementation on-board the adopted programmable platform. Finally, the activity recordings from both sensors allowed us to define a novel asymmetry index AR 24 h ranging from  -100% (only the left arm moves) to  +100% (only the right arm moves) with null value marking a perfect symmetrical behavior. The accuracy of the AR 24 h index was 1.3%. Round-the-clock monitoring on 31 healthy participants (20-79 years old, 10 left handed) provided for the AR 24 h reference data (range  -5% to 21%) and a fairly good correlation to the clinical handedness index (r  =  0.66, p  <  0.001). A subset of 20 participants repeated the monitoring one week apart evidencing an excellent test-retest reliability (r  =  0.70, p  <  0.001). Such figures support future applications of the methodology for the study of pathologies involving motor asymmetries, such as in patients with motor hemisyndromes and, in general, for those subjects for whom a quantification of the asymmetry in daily motor performances is required to complement laboratory tests.

  14. Seeing fearful body language rapidly freezes the observer's motor cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borgomaneri, Sara; Vitale, Francesca; Gazzola, Valeria; Avenanti, Alessio

    2015-04-01

    Fearful body language is a salient signal alerting the observer to the presence of a potential threat in the surrounding environment. Although detecting potential threats may trigger an immediate reduction of motor output in animals (i.e., freezing behavior), it is unclear at what point in time similar reductions occur in the human motor cortex and whether they originate from excitatory or inhibitory processes. Using single-pulse and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), here we tested the hypothesis that the observer's motor cortex implements extremely fast suppression of motor readiness when seeing emotional bodies - and fearful body expressions in particular. Participants observed pictures of body postures and categorized them as happy, fearful or neutral while receiving TMS over the right or left motor cortex at 100-125 msec after picture onset. In three different sessions, we assessed corticospinal excitability, short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF). Independently of the stimulated hemisphere and the time of the stimulation, watching fearful bodies suppressed ICF relative to happy and neutral body expressions. Moreover, happy expressions reduced ICF relative to neutral actions. No changes in corticospinal excitability or SICI were found during the task. These findings show extremely rapid bilateral modulation of the motor cortices when seeing emotional bodies, with stronger suppression of motor readiness when seeing fearful bodies. Our results provide neurophysiological support for the evolutionary notions that emotion perception is inherently linked to action systems and that fear-related cues induce an urgent mobilization of motor reactions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Current direction-dependent modulation of human hand motor function by intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirota, Yuichiro; Dhaka, Suman; Paulus, Walter; Sommer, Martin

    2017-05-22

    Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with different current directions can activate different sets of neurons. Current direction can also affect the results of repetitive TMS. To test the influence of uni-directional intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) using different current directions, namely posteroanterior (PA) and anteroposterior (AP), on motor behaviour. In a cross-over design, PA- and AP-iTBS was applied over the left primary motor cortex in 19 healthy, right-handed volunteers. Performance of a finger-tapping task was recorded before and 0, 10, 20, and 30min after the iTBS. The task was conducted with the right and left hands separately at each time point. As a control, AP-iTBS with reduced intensity was applied to 14 participants in a separate session (AP weak condition). The finger-tapping count with the left hand was decreased after PA-iTBS. Neither AP- nor AP weak -iTBS altered the performance. Current direction had a significant impact on the after-effects of iTBS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Profiles of Motor Laterality in Young Athletes' Performance of Complex Movements: Merging the MOTORLAT and PATHoops Tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castañer, Marta; Andueza, Juan; Hileno, Raúl; Puigarnau, Silvia; Prat, Queralt; Camerino, Oleguer

    2018-01-01

    Laterality is a key aspect of the analysis of basic and specific motor skills. It is relevant to sports because it involves motor laterality profiles beyond left-right preference and spatial orientation of the body. The aim of this study was to obtain the laterality profiles of young athletes, taking into account the synergies between the support and precision functions of limbs and body parts in the performance of complex motor skills. We applied two instruments: (a) MOTORLAT, a motor laterality inventory comprising 30 items of basic, specific, and combined motor skills, and (b) the Precision and Agility Tapping over Hoops (PATHoops) task, in which participants had to perform a path by stepping in each of 14 hoops arranged on the floor, allowing the observation of their feet, left-right preference and spatial orientation. A total of 96 young athletes performed the PATHoops task and the 30 MOTORLAT items, allowing us to obtain data about limb dominance and spatial orientation of the body in the performance of complex motor skills. Laterality profiles were obtained by means of a cluster analysis and a correlational analysis and a contingency analysis were applied between the motor skills and spatial orientation actions performed. The results obtained using MOTORLAT show that the combined motor skills criterion (for example, turning while jumping) differentiates athletes' uses of laterality, showing a clear tendency toward mixed laterality profiles in the performance of complex movements. In the PATHoops task, the best spatial orientation strategy was “same way” (same foot and spatial wing) followed by “opposite way” (opposite foot and spatial wing), in keeping with the research assumption that actions unfolding in a horizontal direction in front of an observer's eyes are common in a variety of sports. PMID:29930527

  17. Distinct Laterality in Forelimb-Movement Representations of Rat Primary and Secondary Motor Cortical Neurons with Intratelencephalic and Pyramidal Tract Projections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soma, Shogo; Saiki, Akiko; Yoshida, Junichi; Ríos, Alain; Kawabata, Masanori; Sakai, Yutaka; Isomura, Yoshikazu

    2017-11-08

    Two distinct motor areas, the primary and secondary motor cortices (M1 and M2), play crucial roles in voluntary movement in rodents. The aim of this study was to characterize the laterality in motor cortical representations of right and left forelimb movements. To achieve this goal, we developed a novel behavioral task, the Right-Left Pedal task, in which a head-restrained male rat manipulates a right or left pedal with the corresponding forelimb. This task enabled us to monitor independent movements of both forelimbs with high spatiotemporal resolution. We observed phasic movement-related neuronal activity (Go-type) and tonic hold-related activity (Hold-type) in isolated unilateral movements. In both M1 and M2, Go-type neurons exhibited bias toward contralateral preference, whereas Hold-type neurons exhibited no bias. The contralateral bias was weaker in M2 than M1. Moreover, we differentiated between intratelencephalic (IT) and pyramidal tract (PT) neurons using optogenetically evoked spike collision in rats expressing channelrhodopsin-2. Even in identified PT and IT neurons, Hold-type neurons exhibited no lateral bias. Go-type PT neurons exhibited bias toward contralateral preference, whereas IT neurons exhibited no bias. Our findings suggest a different laterality of movement representations of M1 and M2, in each of which IT neurons are involved in cooperation of bilateral movements, whereas PT neurons control contralateral movements. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In rodents, the primary and secondary motor cortices (M1 and M2) are involved in voluntary movements via distinct projection neurons: intratelencephalic (IT) neurons and pyramidal tract (PT) neurons. However, it remains unclear whether the two motor cortices (M1 vs M2) and the two classes of projection neurons (IT vs PT) have different laterality of movement representations. We optogenetically identified these neurons and analyzed their functional activity using a novel behavioral task to monitor movements

  18. Improving catalase-based propelled motor endurance by enzyme encapsulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simmchen, Juliane; Baeza, Alejandro; Ruiz-Molina, Daniel; Vallet-Regí, Maria

    2014-07-01

    Biocatalytic propulsion is expected to play an important role in the future of micromotors as it might drastically increase the number of available fuelling reactions. However, most of the enzyme-propelled micromotors so far reported still rely on the degradation of peroxide by catalase, in spite of being vulnerable to relatively high peroxide concentrations. To overcome this limitation, herein we present a strategy to encapsulate the catalase and to graft the resulting enzyme capsules on motor particles. Significant improvement of the stability in the presence of peroxide and other aggressive agents has been observed.Biocatalytic propulsion is expected to play an important role in the future of micromotors as it might drastically increase the number of available fuelling reactions. However, most of the enzyme-propelled micromotors so far reported still rely on the degradation of peroxide by catalase, in spite of being vulnerable to relatively high peroxide concentrations. To overcome this limitation, herein we present a strategy to encapsulate the catalase and to graft the resulting enzyme capsules on motor particles. Significant improvement of the stability in the presence of peroxide and other aggressive agents has been observed. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr02459a

  19. Specifications for Supplementary Classroom Units, Stressed Skin Panel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waring, Robert B.; And Others

    Complete outline specifications are given for the construction of supplementary classroom units using stressed skin panels. Sections included are--(1) concrete and related work, (2) masonry, (3) structural and miscellaneous metal, (4) curtain walls and metal windows, (5) carpentry and related work, (6) roofing, sheet metal, and related work, (7)…

  20. Recent History of Effector Use Modulates Practice-Dependent Changes in Corticospinal Excitability but Not Motor Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hussain, Sara J; Darling, Warren G; Cole, Kelly J

    2016-01-01

    The theory of homeostatic metaplasticity has significant implications for human motor cortical plasticity and motor learning. Previous work has shown that the extent of recent effector use before exogenously-induced plasticity can affect the direction, magnitude and variability of aftereffects. However, the impact of recent effector use on motor learning and practice-dependent plasticity is not known. We hypothesized that reducing effector use for 8 hours via hand/wrist immobilization would facilitate practice-dependent changes in corticospinal excitability and TMS-evoked thumb movement kinematics, while also promoting 24-hour retention of a ballistic motor skill. Subjects participated in a crossover study involving two conditions. During the immobilization condition, subjects wore a splint that restricted motion of the left hand and thumb for 8 hours. While wearing the splint, subjects were instructed to avoid using their left hand as much as possible. During the control condition, subjects did not wear a splint at any time nor were they instructed to avoid hand use. After either an 8 hour period of immobilization or normal hand use, we collected MEP and TMS-evoked thumb movement recruitment curves, and subjects practiced a ballistic motor skill involving rapid thumb extension. After motor practice, MEP and TMS-evoked thumb movement recruitment curves were re-tested. Retention of the motor skill was tested 30 minutes and 24 hours after motor practice. Reduced effector use did not impact pre-practice corticospinal excitability but did facilitate practice-dependent changes in corticospinal excitability, and this enhancement was specific to the trained muscle. In contrast, reducing effector use did not affect practice-dependent changes in TMS-evoked thumb movements nor did it promote acquisition or retention of the skill. Finally, we detected some associations between pre-practice excitability levels, plasticity effects and learning effects, but these did not reach

  1. Non-compact left ventricle/hypertrabeculated left ventricle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Restrepo, Gustavo; Castano, Rafael; Marmol, Alejandro

    2005-01-01

    Non-compact left ventricle/hypertrabeculated left ventricle is a myocardiopatie produced by an arrest of the normal left ventricular compaction process during the early embryogenesis. It is associated to cardiac anomalies (congenital cardiopaties) as well as to extracardial conditions (neurological, facial, hematologic, cutaneous, skeletal and endocrinological anomalies). This entity is frequently unnoticed, being diagnosed only in centers with great experience in the diagnosis and treatment of myocardiopathies. Many cases of non-compact left ventricle have been initially misdiagnosed as hypertrophic myocardiopatie, endocardial fibroelastosis, dilated cardiomyopatie, restrictive cardiomyopathy and endocardial fibrosis. It is reported the case of a 74 years old man with a history of chronic arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus, prechordial chest pain and mild dyspnoea. An echocardiogram showed signs of non-compact left ventricle with prominent trabeculations and deep inter-trabecular recesses involving left ventricular apical segment and extending to the lateral and inferior walls. Literature on this topic is reviewed

  2. Differential recruitment of the sensorimotor putamen and frontoparietal cortex during motor chunking in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wymbs, Nicholas F; Bassett, Danielle S; Mucha, Peter J; Porter, Mason A; Grafton, Scott T

    2012-06-07

    Motor chunking facilitates movement production by combining motor elements into integrated units of behavior. Previous research suggests that chunking involves two processes: concatenation, aimed at the formation of motor-motor associations between elements or sets of elements, and segmentation, aimed at the parsing of multiple contiguous elements into shorter action sets. We used fMRI to measure the trial-wise recruitment of brain regions associated with these chunking processes as healthy subjects performed a cued-sequence production task. A dynamic network analysis identified chunking structure for a set of motor sequences acquired during fMRI and collected over 3 days of training. Activity in the bilateral sensorimotor putamen positively correlated with chunk concatenation, whereas a left-hemisphere frontoparietal network was correlated with chunk segmentation. Across subjects, there was an aggregate increase in chunk strength (concatenation) with training, suggesting that subcortical circuits play a direct role in the creation of fluid transitions across chunks. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Motor laterality as an indicator of speech laterality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flowers, Kenneth A; Hudson, John M

    2013-03-01

    The determination of speech laterality, especially where it is anomalous, is both a theoretical issue and a practical problem for brain surgery. Handedness is commonly thought to be related to speech representation, but exactly how is not clearly understood. This investigation analyzed handedness by preference rating and performance on a reliable task of motor laterality in 34 patients undergoing a Wada test, to see if they could provide an indicator of speech laterality. Hand usage preference ratings divided patients into left, right, and mixed in preference. Between-hand differences in movement time on a pegboard task determined motor laterality. Results were correlated (χ2) with speech representation as determined by a standard Wada test. It was found that patients whose between-hand difference in speed on the motor task was small or inconsistent were the ones whose Wada test speech representation was likely to be ambiguous or anomalous, whereas all those with a consistently large between-hand difference showed clear unilateral speech representation in the hemisphere controlling the better hand (χ2 = 10.45, df = 1, p laterality are related where they both involve a central control of motor output sequencing and that a measure of that aspect of the former will indicate the likely representation of the latter. A between-hand measure of motor laterality based on such a measure may indicate the possibility of anomalous speech representation. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. Lesion characteristics driving right-hemispheric language reorganization in congenital left-hemispheric brain damage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lidzba, Karen; de Haan, Bianca; Wilke, Marko; Krägeloh-Mann, Ingeborg; Staudt, Martin

    2017-10-01

    Pre- or perinatally acquired ("congenital") left-hemispheric brain lesions can be compensated for by reorganizing language into homotopic brain regions in the right hemisphere. Language comprehension may be hemispherically dissociated from language production. We investigated the lesion characteristics driving inter-hemispheric reorganization of language comprehension and language production in 19 patients (7-32years; eight females) with congenital left-hemispheric brain lesions (periventricular lesions [n=11] and middle cerebral artery infarctions [n=8]) by fMRI. 16/17 patients demonstrated reorganized language production, while 7/19 patients had reorganized language comprehension. Lesions to the insular cortex and the temporo-parietal junction (predominantly supramarginal gyrus) were significantly more common in patients in whom both, language production and comprehension were reorganized. These areas belong to the dorsal stream of the language network, participating in the auditory-motor integration of language. Our data suggest that the integrity of this stream might be crucial for a normal left-lateralized language development. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Enhanced activation of motor execution networks using action observation combined with imagination of lower limb movements.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Villiger

    Full Text Available The combination of first-person observation and motor imagery, i.e. first-person observation of limbs with online motor imagination, is commonly used in interactive 3D computer gaming and in some movie scenes. These scenarios are designed to induce a cognitive process in which a subject imagines himself/herself acting as the agent in the displayed movement situation. Despite the ubiquity of this type of interaction and its therapeutic potential, its relationship to passive observation and imitation during observation has not been directly studied using an interactive paradigm. In the present study we show activation resulting from observation, coupled with online imagination and with online imitation of a goal-directed lower limb movement using functional MRI (fMRI in a mixed block/event-related design. Healthy volunteers viewed a video (first-person perspective of a foot kicking a ball. They were instructed to observe-only the action (O, observe and simultaneously imagine performing the action (O-MI, or imitate the action (O-IMIT. We found that when O-MI was compared to O, activation was enhanced in the ventralpremotor cortex bilaterally, left inferior parietal lobule and left insula. The O-MI and O-IMIT conditions shared many activation foci in motor relevant areas as confirmed by conjunction analysis. These results show that (i combining observation with motor imagery (O-MI enhances activation compared to observation-only (O in the relevant foot motor network and in regions responsible for attention, for control of goal-directed movements and for the awareness of causing an action, and (ii it is possible to extensively activate the motor execution network using O-MI, even in the absence of overt movement. Our results may have implications for the development of novel virtual reality interactions for neurorehabilitation interventions and other applications involving training of motor tasks.

  6. Functional Brain Connectivity during Multiple Motor Imagery Tasks in Spinal Cord Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alkinoos Athanasiou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Reciprocal communication of the central and peripheral nervous systems is compromised during spinal cord injury due to neurotrauma of ascending and descending pathways. Changes in brain organization after spinal cord injury have been associated with differences in prognosis. Changes in functional connectivity may also serve as injury biomarkers. Most studies on functional connectivity have focused on chronic complete injury or resting-state condition. In our study, ten right-handed patients with incomplete spinal cord injury and ten age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed multiple visual motor imagery tasks of upper extremities and walking under high-resolution electroencephalography recording. Directed transfer function was used to study connectivity at the cortical source space between sensorimotor nodes. Chronic disruption of reciprocal communication in incomplete injury could result in permanent significant decrease of connectivity in a subset of the sensorimotor network, regardless of positive or negative neurological outcome. Cingulate motor areas consistently contributed the larger outflow (right and received the higher inflow (left among all nodes, across all motor imagery categories, in both groups. Injured subjects had higher outflow from left cingulate than healthy subjects and higher inflow in right cingulate than healthy subjects. Alpha networks were less dense, showing less integration and more segregation than beta networks. Spinal cord injury patients showed signs of increased local processing as adaptive mechanism. This trial is registered with NCT02443558.

  7. Effective Connectivity Hierarchically Links Temporoparietal and Frontal Areas of the Auditory Dorsal Stream with the Motor Cortex Lip Area during Speech Perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murakami, Takenobu; Restle, Julia; Ziemann, Ulf

    2012-01-01

    A left-hemispheric cortico-cortical network involving areas of the temporoparietal junction (Tpj) and the posterior inferior frontal gyrus (pIFG) is thought to support sensorimotor integration of speech perception into articulatory motor activation, but how this network links with the lip area of the primary motor cortex (M1) during speech…

  8. Left regular bands of groups of left quotients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Qallali, A.

    1988-10-01

    A semigroup S which has a left regular band of groups as a semigroup of left quotients is shown to be the semigroup which is a left regular band of right reversible cancellative semigroups. An alternative characterization is provided by using spinned products. These results are applied to the case where S is a superabundant whose set of idempotents forms a left normal band. (author). 13 refs

  9. Passive listening to preferred motor tempo modulates corticospinal excitability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michaelis, Kelly; Wiener, Martin; Thompson, James C

    2014-01-01

    Rhythms are an essential characteristic of our lives, and auditory-motor coupling affects a variety of behaviors. Previous research has shown that the neural regions associated with motor system processing are coupled to perceptual rhythmic and melodic processing such that the perception of rhythmic stimuli can entrain motor system responses. However, the degree to which individual preference modulates the motor system is unknown. Recent work has shown that passively listening to metrically strong rhythms increases corticospinal excitability, as indicated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Furthermore, this effect is modulated by high-groove music, or music that inspires movement, while neuroimaging evidence suggests that premotor activity increases with tempos occurring within a preferred tempo (PT) category. PT refers to the rate of a hypothetical endogenous oscillator that may be indicated by spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) and preferred perceptual tempo (PPT) measurements. The present study investigated whether listening to a rhythm at an individual's PT preferentially modulates motor system excitability. SMT was obtained in human participants through a tapping task in which subjects were asked to tap a response key at their most comfortable rate. Subjects listened a 10-beat tone sequence at 11 log-spaced tempos and rated their preference for each (PPT). We found that SMT and PPT measurements were correlated, indicating that preferred and produced tempos occurred at a similar rate. Crucially, single-pulse TMS delivered to left M1 during PPT judgments revealed that corticospinal excitability, measured by motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), was modulated by tempos traveling closer to individual PT. However, the specific nature of this modulation differed across individuals, with some exhibiting an increase in excitability around PT and others exhibiting a decrease. These findings suggest that auditory-motor coupling induced by rhythms is preferentially

  10. Effects of vibratory stimulation-induced kinesthetic illusions on the neural activities of patients with stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kodama, Takayuki; Nakano, Hideki; Ohsugi, Hironori; Murata, Shin

    2016-01-01

    [Purpose] This study evaluated the influence of vibratory stimulation-induced kinesthetic illusion on brain function after stroke. [Subjects] Twelve healthy individuals and 13 stroke patients without motor or sensory loss participated. [Methods] Electroencephalograms were taken at rest and during vibratory stimulation. As a neurophysiological index of brain function, we measured the μ-rhythm, which is present mainly in the kinesthetic cortex and is attenuated by movement or motor imagery and compared the data using source localization analyses in the Standardized Low Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA) program. [Results] At rest, μ-rhythms appeared in the sensorimotor and supplementary motor cortices in both healthy controls and stroke patients. Under vibratory stimulation, no μ-rhythm appeared in the sensorimotor cortex of either group. Moreover, in the supplementary motor area, which stores the motor imagery required for kinesthetic illusions, the μ-rhythms of patients were significantly stronger than those of the controls, although the μ-rhythms of both groups were reduced. Thus, differences in neural activity in the supplementary motor area were apparent between the subject groups. [Conclusion] Kinesthetic illusions do occur in patients with motor deficits due to stroke. The neural basis of the supplementary motor area in stroke patients may be functionally different from that found in healthy controls.

  11. Medical Progress and Supplementary Private Health Insurance

    OpenAIRE

    Reiner Leidl

    2003-01-01

    In many welfare states, tightening financial constraints suggest excluding some medical services, including new ones, from social security coverage. This may create opportunities for private health insurance. This study analyses the performance of supplementary private health insurance (SPHI) in markets for excluded services in terms of population covered, risk selection and insurer profits. Using a utility-based simulation model, the insurance market is described as a composite of sub-market...

  12. Footedness is associated with self-reported sporting performance and motor abilities in the general population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrich S Tran

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Left-handers may have strategic advantages over right-handers in interactive sports and innate superior abilities that are beneficial for sports. Previous studies relied on differing criteria for handedness classification and mostly did not investigate mixed preferences and footedness. Footedness appears to be less influenced by external and societal factors than handedness. Utilizing latent class analysis and structural equation modeling, we investigated in a series of studies (total N > 15300 associations of handedness and footedness with self-reported sporting performance and motor abilities in the general population. Using a discovery and a replication sample (ns = 7658 and 5062, Study 1 revealed replicable beneficial effects of mixed-footedness and left-footedness in team sports, martial arts and fencing, dancing, skiing, and swimming. Study 2 (n = 2592 showed that footedness for unskilled bipedal movement tasks, but not for skilled unipedal tasks, was beneficial for sporting performance. Mixed- and left-footedness had effects on motor abilities that were consistent with published results on better brain interhemispheric communication, but also akin to testosterone-induced effects regarding flexibility, strength, and endurance. Laterality effects were only small. Possible neural and hormonal bases of observed effects need to be examined in future studies.

  13. Understanding Actions of Others: The Electrodynamics of the Left and Right Hemispheres. A High-Density EEG Neuroimaging Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortigue, Stephanie; Sinigaglia, Corrado; Rizzolatti, Giacomo; Grafton, Scott T.

    2010-01-01

    Background When we observe an individual performing a motor act (e.g. grasping a cup) we get two types of information on the basis of how the motor act is done and the context: what the agent is doing (i.e. grasping) and the intention underlying it (i.e. grasping for drinking). Here we examined the temporal dynamics of the brain activations that follow the observation of a motor act and underlie the observer's capacity to understand what the agent is doing and why. Methodology/Principal Findings Volunteers were presented with two-frame video-clips. The first frame (T0) showed an object with or without context; the second frame (T1) showed a hand interacting with the object. The volunteers were instructed to understand the intention of the observed actions while their brain activity was recorded with a high-density 128-channel EEG system. Visual event-related potentials (VEPs) were recorded time-locked with the frame showing the hand-object interaction (T1). The data were analyzed by using electrical neuroimaging, which combines a cluster analysis performed on the group-averaged VEPs with the localization of the cortical sources that give rise to different spatio-temporal states of the global electrical field. Electrical neuroimaging results revealed four major steps: 1) bilateral posterior cortical activations; 2) a strong activation of the left posterior temporal and inferior parietal cortices with almost a complete disappearance of activations in the right hemisphere; 3) a significant increase of the activations of the right temporo-parietal region with simultaneously co-active left hemispheric sources, and 4) a significant global decrease of cortical activity accompanied by the appearance of activation of the orbito-frontal cortex. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that the early striking left hemisphere involvement is due to the activation of a lateralized action-observation/action execution network. The activation of this lateralized network mediates the

  14. MCBS Highlights: Ownership and Average Premiums for Medicare Supplementary Insurance Policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chulis, George S.; Eppig, Franklin J.; Poisal, John A.

    1995-01-01

    This article describes private supplementary health insurance holdings and average premiums paid by Medicare enrollees. Data were collected as part of the 1992 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). Data show the number of persons with insurance and average premiums paid by type of insurance held—individually purchased policies, employer-sponsored policies, or both. Distributions are shown for a variety of demographic, socioeconomic, and health status variables. Primary findings include: Seventy-eight percent of Medicare beneficiaries have private supplementary insurance; 25 percent of those with private insurance hold more than one policy. The average premium paid for private insurance in 1992 was $914. PMID:10153473

  15. Processing of metaphors in transcortical motor aphasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Mancopes

    Full Text Available Abstract Great emphasis has been placed on the right hemisphere, due to its possible selective contribution, in the processing of metaphorical statements. Objectives: To describe the processing of metaphors in the case of a patient with transcortical motor aphasia, using specific tests for patients with encephalic injuries of the right hemisphere, and to contribute to the discussion on the inter-hemispheric relationships associated with this function. Methods: A 54 year-old man with transcortical motor aphasia was evaluated three years after a left hemisphere stroke. The tasks of comprehension of metaphors were based on the subtest Metaphor Comprehension Task of the Montreal Evaluation of Communications Scale (MEC. Two metaphor comprehension tests were applied, in 45-minute sessions with a 48 hour interval between each. Test 1 involved comprehension of the metaphors according to the options offered, and Test 2 the comprehension of metaphors measured by response time and visual field. Results: Although the right hemisphere was not affected by the stroke in this case, difficulties were observed in the processing of metaphors. Conclusions: This study suggests that the left hemisphere participates in the processing of figurative meanings. The adaptability of the brain can also re-accommodate the uninjured areas of the brain, causing the dynamic of the brain to be modified. As a result, deducing cerebral functions based on clinical data can be problematic. The value of this study is that it can contribute to clinical aspects of language rehabilitation.

  16. Improving supplementary feeding in species conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ewen, John G; Walker, Leila; Canessa, Stefano; Groombridge, Jim J

    2015-01-01

    Supplementary feeding is often a knee-jerk reaction to population declines, and its application is not critically evaluated, leading to polarized views among managers on its usefulness. Here, we advocate a more strategic approach to supplementary feeding so that the choice to use it is clearly justified over, or in combination with, other management actions and the predicted consequences are then critically assessed following implementation. We propose combining methods from a set of specialist disciplines that will allow critical evaluation of the need, benefit, and risks of food supplementation. Through the use of nutritional ecology, population ecology, and structured decision making, conservation managers can make better choices about what and how to feed by estimating consequences on population recovery across a range of possible actions. This structured approach also informs targeted monitoring and more clearly allows supplementary feeding to be integrated in recovery plans and reduces the risk of inefficient decisions. In New Zealand, managers of the endangered Hihi (Notiomystis cincta) often rely on supplementary feeding to support reintroduced populations. On Kapiti island the reintroduced Hihi population has responded well to food supplementation, but the logistics of providing an increasing demand recently outstretched management capacity. To decide whether and how the feeding regime should be revised, managers used a structured decision making approach informed by population responses to alternative feeding regimes. The decision was made to reduce the spatial distribution of feeders and invest saved time in increasing volume of food delivered into a smaller core area. The approach used allowed a transparent and defendable management decision in regard to supplementary feeding, reflecting the multiple objectives of managers and their priorities. Mejoría de la Alimentación Suplementaria en la Conservación de Especies Resumen La alimentaci

  17. Impact of supplementary feeding on reproductive success of white storks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roland Hilgartner

    Full Text Available European white stork (Ciconia ciconia populations have been object to several conservation measures such as reintroduction programs, habitat improvement or supplementary feeding in the last decades. Although recent white stork censuses revealed an upward trend of most of the western populations, evaluations of the relative importance of certain conservation measures are still scarce or even lacking. In our study we analyzed the effect of supplementary feeding on the reproductive success of white storks in conjunction with other factors such as weather or nest site characteristics. We present data of 569 breeding events at 80 different nest sites located in variable distances to an artificial feeding site at Affenberg Salem (south-western Germany collected from 1990-2012. A multilevel Poisson regression revealed that in our study population (1 reproductive success was negatively affected by monthly precipitation in April, May and June, (2 pairs breeding on power poles had a lower reproductive success than pairs breeding on platforms or trees and (3 reproductive success was significantly higher in pairs breeding in close distance to the feeding site. The number of fledglings per nest decreased by 8% per kilometer distance to the feeding site. Our data suggest that supplementary feeding increases fledgling populations which may be a tool to attenuate population losses caused by factors such as habitat deterioration or unfavorable conditions in wintering habitats.

  18. Effect of prism adaptation on left dichotic listening deficit in neglect patients: glasses to hear better?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacquin-Courtois, S; Rode, G; Pavani, F; O'Shea, J; Giard, M H; Boisson, D; Rossetti, Y

    2010-03-01

    Unilateral neglect is a disabling syndrome frequently observed following right hemisphere brain damage. Symptoms range from visuo-motor impairments through to deficient visuo-spatial imagery, but impairment can also affect the auditory modality. A short period of adaptation to a rightward prismatic shift of the visual field is known to improve a wide range of hemispatial neglect symptoms, including visuo-manual tasks, mental imagery, postural imbalance, visuo-verbal measures and number bisection. The aim of the present study was to assess whether the beneficial effects of prism adaptation may generalize to auditory manifestations of neglect. Auditory extinction, whose clinical manifestations are independent of the sensory modalities engaged in visuo-manual adaptation, was examined in neglect patients before and after prism adaptation. Two separate groups of neglect patients (all of whom exhibited left auditory extinction) underwent prism adaptation: one group (n = 6) received a classical prism treatment ('Prism' group), the other group (n = 6) was submitted to the same procedure, but wore neutral glasses creating no optical shift (placebo 'Control' group). Auditory extinction was assessed by means of a dichotic listening task performed three times: prior to prism exposure (pre-test), upon prism removal (0 h post-test) and 2 h later (2 h post-test). The total number of correct responses, the lateralization index (detection asymmetry between the two ears) and the number of left-right fusion errors were analysed. Our results demonstrate that prism adaptation can improve left auditory extinction, thus revealing transfer of benefit to a sensory modality that is orthogonal to the visual, proprioceptive and motor modalities directly implicated in the visuo-motor adaptive process. The observed benefit was specific to the detection asymmetry between the two ears and did not affect the total number of responses. This indicates a specific effect of prism adaptation on

  19. Robot-Aided Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Based on Motor Imagery EEG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baoguo Xu

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide. In this paper, a novel robot-assisted rehabilitation system based on motor imagery electroencephalography (EEG is developed for regular training of neurological rehabilitation for upper limb stroke patients. Firstly, three-dimensional animation was used to guide the patient image the upper limb movement and EEG signals were acquired by EEG amplifier. Secondly, eigenvectors were extracted by harmonic wavelet transform (HWT and linear discriminant analysis (LDA classifier was utilized to classify the pattern of the left and right upper limb motor imagery EEG signals. Finally, PC triggered the upper limb rehabilitation robot to perform motor therapy and gave the virtual feedback. Using this robot-assisted upper limb rehabilitation system, the patient's EEG of upper limb movement imagination is translated to control rehabilitation robot directly. Consequently, the proposed rehabilitation system can fully explore the patient's motivation and attention and directly facilitate upper limb post-stroke rehabilitation therapy. Experimental results on unimpaired participants were presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the rehabilitation system. Combining robot-assisted training with motor imagery-based BCI will make future rehabilitation therapy more effective. Clinical testing is still required for further proving this assumption.

  20. Decreased Modulation of EEG Oscillations in High-Functioning Autism During a Motor Control Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua Benjamin Ewen

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Autism spectrum disorders (ASD are thought to result in part from altered cortical excitatory-inhibitory balance; this pathophysiology may impact the generation of oscillations on EEG. We investigated premotor-parietal cortical physiology associated with praxis, which has strong theoretical and empirical associations with ASD symptomatology. 25 children with high-functioning ASD (HFA and 33 controls performed a praxis task involving the pantomiming of tool use, while EEG was recorded. We assessed task-related modulation of signal power in alpha and beta frequency bands. Compared with controls, subjects with HFA showed 27% less left central (motor/premotor beta (18-22 Hz event-related desynchronization (ERD (p = 0.030, as well as 24% less left parietal alpha (7-13 Hz ERD (p = 0.046. Within the HFA group, blunting of central ERD attenuation was associated with impairments in clinical measures of praxis imitation (r = -0.4; p = 0.04 and increased autism severity (r = 0.48; p = 0.016. The modulation of central beta activity is associated, among other things, with motor imagery, which may be necessary for imitation. Impaired imitation has been associated with core features of ASD. Altered modulation of oscillatory activity may be mechanistically involved in those aspects of motor network function that relate to the core symptoms of ASD.

  1. Functional connectivity of motor cortical network in patients with brachial plexus avulsion injury after contralateral cervical nerve transfer: a resting-state fMRI study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Aihong; Cheng, Xiaoguang; Liang, Wei; Bai, Rongjie [The 4th Medical College of Peking University, Department of Radiology, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Xicheng Qu, Beijing (China); Wang, Shufeng; Xue, Yunhao; Li, Wenjun [The 4th Medical College of Peking University, Department of Hand Surgery, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing (China)

    2017-03-15

    The purpose of this study is to assess the functional connectivity of the motor cortical network in patients with brachial plexus avulsion injury (BPAI) after contralateral C7 nerve transfer, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI). Twelve patients with total brachial plexus root avulsion underwent RS-fMRI after contralateral C7 nerve transfer. Seventeen healthy volunteers were also included in this fMRI study as controls. The hand motor seed regions were defined as region of interests in the bilateral hemispheres. The seed-based functional connectivity was calculated in all the subjects. Differences in functional connectivity of the motor cortical network between patients and healthy controls were compared. The inter-hemispheric functional connectivity of the M1 areas was increased in patients with BPAI compared with the controls. The inter-hemispheric functional connectivity between the supplementary motor areas was reduced bilaterally. The resting-state inter-hemispheric functional connectivity of the bilateral M1 areas is altered in patients after contralateral C7 nerve transfer, suggesting a functional reorganization of cerebral cortex. (orig.)

  2. Functional connectivity of motor cortical network in patients with brachial plexus avulsion injury after contralateral cervical nerve transfer: a resting-state fMRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Aihong; Cheng, Xiaoguang; Liang, Wei; Bai, Rongjie; Wang, Shufeng; Xue, Yunhao; Li, Wenjun

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to assess the functional connectivity of the motor cortical network in patients with brachial plexus avulsion injury (BPAI) after contralateral C7 nerve transfer, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI). Twelve patients with total brachial plexus root avulsion underwent RS-fMRI after contralateral C7 nerve transfer. Seventeen healthy volunteers were also included in this fMRI study as controls. The hand motor seed regions were defined as region of interests in the bilateral hemispheres. The seed-based functional connectivity was calculated in all the subjects. Differences in functional connectivity of the motor cortical network between patients and healthy controls were compared. The inter-hemispheric functional connectivity of the M1 areas was increased in patients with BPAI compared with the controls. The inter-hemispheric functional connectivity between the supplementary motor areas was reduced bilaterally. The resting-state inter-hemispheric functional connectivity of the bilateral M1 areas is altered in patients after contralateral C7 nerve transfer, suggesting a functional reorganization of cerebral cortex. (orig.)

  3. Impairments of motor-cortex responses to unilateral and bilateral direct current stimulation in schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alkomiet eHasan

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS is a non-invasive stimulation technique that can be applied to modulate cortical activity through induction of cortical plasticity. Since various neuropsychiatric disorders are characterised by fluctuations in cortical activity levels (e.g. schizophrenia, tDCS is increasingly investigated as a treatment tool. Several studies have shown that the induction of cortical plasticity following classical, unilateral tDCS is reduced or impaired in the stimulated and non-stimulated primary motor cortices (M1 of schizophrenia patients. Moreover, an alternative, bilateral tDCS setup has recently been shown to modulate cortical plasticity in both hemispheres in healthy subjects, highlighting another potential treatment approach. Here we present the first study comparing the efficacy of unilateral tDCS (cathode left M1, anode right supraorbital with simultaneous bilateral tDCS (cathode left M1, anode right M1 in schizophrenia patients. tDCS-induced cortical plasticity was monitored by investigating motor-evoked potentials induced by single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to both hemispheres. Healthy subjects showed a reduction of left M1 excitability following unilateral tDCS on the stimulated left hemisphere and an increase in right M1 excitability following bilateral tDCS. In schizophrenia, no plasticity was induced following both stimulation paradigms. The pattern of these results indicates a complex interplay between plasticity and connectivity that is impaired in schizophrenia patients. Further studies are needed to clarify the biological underpinnings and clinical impact of these findings.

  4. Split-phase motor running as capacitor starts motor and as capacitor run motor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yahaya Asizehi ENESI

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the input parameters of a single phase split-phase induction motor is taken to investigate and to study the output performance characteristics of capacitor start and capacitor run induction motor. The value of these input parameters are used in the design characteristics of capacitor run and capacitor start motor with each motor connected to rated or standard capacitor in series with auxiliary winding or starting winding respectively for the normal operational condition. The magnitude of capacitor that will develop maximum torque in capacitor start motor and capacitor run motor are investigated and determined by simulation. Each of these capacitors is connected to the auxiliary winding of split-phase motor thereby transforming it into capacitor start or capacitor run motor. The starting current and starting torque of the split-phase motor (SPM, capacitor run motor (CRM and capacitor star motor (CSM are compared for their suitability in their operational performance and applications.

  5. Variation in motor output and motor performance in a centrally generated motor pattern

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Brian J.; Doloc-Mihu, Anca; Calabrese, Ronald L.

    2014-01-01

    Central pattern generators (CPGs) produce motor patterns that ultimately drive motor outputs. We studied how functional motor performance is achieved, specifically, whether the variation seen in motor patterns is reflected in motor performance and whether fictive motor patterns differ from those in vivo. We used the leech heartbeat system in which a bilaterally symmetrical CPG coordinates segmental heart motor neurons and two segmented heart tubes into two mutually exclusive coordination modes: rear-to-front peristaltic on one side and nearly synchronous on the other, with regular side-to-side switches. We assessed individual variability of the motor pattern and the beat pattern in vivo. To quantify the beat pattern we imaged intact adults. To quantify the phase relations between motor neurons and heart constrictions we recorded extracellularly from two heart motor neurons and movement from the corresponding heart segments in minimally dissected leeches. Variation in the motor pattern was reflected in motor performance only in the peristaltic mode, where larger intersegmental phase differences in the motor neurons resulted in larger phase differences between heart constrictions. Fictive motor patterns differed from those in vivo only in the synchronous mode, where intersegmental phase differences in vivo had a larger front-to-rear bias and were more constrained. Additionally, load-influenced constriction timing might explain the amplification of the phase differences between heart segments in the peristaltic mode and the higher variability in motor output due to body shape assumed in this soft-bodied animal. The motor pattern determines the beat pattern, peristaltic or synchronous, but heart mechanics influence the phase relations achieved. PMID:24717348

  6. Motor mapping of implied actions during perception of emotional body language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borgomaneri, Sara; Gazzola, Valeria; Avenanti, Alessio

    2012-04-01

    Perceiving and understanding emotional cues is critical for survival. Using the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) previous TMS studies have found that watching humans in emotional pictures increases motor excitability relative to seeing landscapes or household objects, suggesting that emotional cues may prime the body for action. Here we tested whether motor facilitation to emotional pictures may reflect the simulation of the human motor behavior implied in the pictures occurring independently of its emotional valence. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) to single-pulse TMS of the left motor cortex were recorded from hand muscles during observation and categorization of emotional and neutral pictures. In experiment 1 participants watched neutral, positive and negative IAPS stimuli, while in experiment 2, they watched pictures depicting human emotional (joyful, fearful), neutral body movements and neutral static postures. Experiment 1 confirms the increase in excitability for emotional IAPS stimuli found in previous research and shows, however, that more implied motion is perceived in emotional relative to neutral scenes. Experiment 2 shows that motor excitability and implied motion scores for emotional and neutral body actions were comparable and greater than for static body postures. In keeping with embodied simulation theories, motor response to emotional pictures may reflect the simulation of the action implied in the emotional scenes. Action simulation may occur independently of whether the observed implied action carries emotional or neutral meanings. Our study suggests the need of controlling implied motion when exploring motor response to emotional pictures of humans. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Game farming as a supplementary farming activity in the Karoo ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Game farming as a supplementary farming activity in the Karoo. ... Veld management in a game farming situation poses problems due to the ineffectiveness of rotational grazing systems. Simplification of natural ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  8. Frontal lobe atrophy in motor neuron diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiernan, J A; Hudson, A J

    1994-08-01

    Neuronal degeneration in the precentral gyrus alone cannot account for the occurrence of spastic paresis in motor neuron diseases. To look for more extensive cortical atrophy we measured MRIs of the upper parts of the frontal and parietal lobes in 11 sporadic cases of classical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), eight patients with primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) and an age- and sex-matched group of 49 neurologically normal people. None of the patients had overt dementia or other mental diseases. In PLS there is progressive spastic paresis but in contrast to ALS there is no lower motor neuron degeneration. The surface area of the precentral gyri and the amount of underlying white matter in PLS were consistently approximately 75% of the normal size. By contrast, there was some shrinkage of the precentral gyri in some of the ALS patients but the mean measurements for the group did not differ significantly from the controls. Anterior to the precentral sulci, the cortical surface area in PLS was approximately 85% of that of the controls, with correspondingly reduced white matter. In ALS the cortical surface areas of the anterior frontal lobes did not differ from those of the controls, but the amount of underlying white matter was reduced almost as much in ALS as it was in PLS. The measured changes in the frontal lobes suggest that in PLS there is simultaneous atrophy of the primary, premotor and supplementary motor areas of the cortex, with consequent degeneration of corticospinal and corticoreticular axons descending through the underlying white matter. These changes could account for the progressive upper motor neuron syndrome. In ALS, with no significant frontal cortical atrophy, the shrinkage of the white matter may be due to degeneration of axons projecting to the frontal cortex from elsewhere. Deprivation of afferents could explain the diminution of motor functions of the frontal lobes in ALS and also the changes in word fluency, judgement and attention that

  9. Relationship between functional connectivity and motor function assessment in stroke patients with hemiplegia: a resting-state functional MRI study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Ye; Wang, Li; Zhang, Jingna; Sang, Linqiong; Li, Pengyue; Qiu, Mingguo [Third Military Medical University, Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing (China); Liu, Hongliang; Yan, Rubing [Third Military Medical University, Department of Rehabilitation, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing (China); Yang, Jun; Wang, Jian [Third Military Medical University, Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Chongqing (China)

    2016-05-15

    Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to examine the brain mechanisms of stroke patients with hemiplegia, but the relationship between functional connectivity (FC) and treatment-induced motor function recovery has not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to identify the brain FC changes in stroke patients and study the relationship between FC and motor function assessment using the resting-state fMRI. Seventeen stroke patients with hemiplegia and fifteen healthy control subjects (HCSs) were recruited in this study. We compared the FC between the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1) and the whole brain of the patients with the FC of the HCSs and studied the FC changes in the patients before and after conventional rehabilitation and motor imagery therapy. Additionally, correlations between the FC change and motor function of the patients were studied. Compared to the HCSs, the FC in the patient group was significantly increased between the ipsilesional M1 and the ipsilesional inferior parietal cortex, frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area (SMA), and contralesional angular and decreased between the ipsilesional M1 and bilateral M1. After the treatment, the FC between the ipsilesional M1 and contralesional M1 increased while the FC between the ipsilesional M1 and ipsilesional SMA and paracentral lobule decreased. A statistically significant correlation was found between the FC change in the bilateral M1 and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) score change. Our results revealed an abnormal motor network after stroke and suggested that the FC could serve as a biomarker of motor function recovery in stroke patients with hemiplegia. (orig.)

  10. Relationship between functional connectivity and motor function assessment in stroke patients with hemiplegia: a resting-state functional MRI study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Ye; Wang, Li; Zhang, Jingna; Sang, Linqiong; Li, Pengyue; Qiu, Mingguo; Liu, Hongliang; Yan, Rubing; Yang, Jun; Wang, Jian

    2016-01-01

    Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to examine the brain mechanisms of stroke patients with hemiplegia, but the relationship between functional connectivity (FC) and treatment-induced motor function recovery has not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to identify the brain FC changes in stroke patients and study the relationship between FC and motor function assessment using the resting-state fMRI. Seventeen stroke patients with hemiplegia and fifteen healthy control subjects (HCSs) were recruited in this study. We compared the FC between the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1) and the whole brain of the patients with the FC of the HCSs and studied the FC changes in the patients before and after conventional rehabilitation and motor imagery therapy. Additionally, correlations between the FC change and motor function of the patients were studied. Compared to the HCSs, the FC in the patient group was significantly increased between the ipsilesional M1 and the ipsilesional inferior parietal cortex, frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area (SMA), and contralesional angular and decreased between the ipsilesional M1 and bilateral M1. After the treatment, the FC between the ipsilesional M1 and contralesional M1 increased while the FC between the ipsilesional M1 and ipsilesional SMA and paracentral lobule decreased. A statistically significant correlation was found between the FC change in the bilateral M1 and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) score change. Our results revealed an abnormal motor network after stroke and suggested that the FC could serve as a biomarker of motor function recovery in stroke patients with hemiplegia. (orig.)

  11. Effect of supplementary zinc on body mass index, pulmonary function and hospitalization in children with cystic fibrosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ataee, Pedram; Najafi, Mehri; Gharagozlou, Mohammad; Aflatounian, Majid; Mahmoudi, Maryam; Khodadad, Ahmad; Farahmand, Fatemeh; Motamed, Farzaneh; Fallahi, Glolam Hossein; Kalantari, Najmoddin; Soheili, Habib; Modarresi, Vajiheh; Modarresi, Mozhgan Sabbaghian; Rezaei, Nima

    2014-01-01

    Zinc deficiency, which is common in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), can lead to several complications that may increase the number of hospital admissions in this group of patients. As supplementary zinc can prevent such complications, this study was performed to evaluate the effect of supplementary zinc on body mass index (BMI), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and number of hospitalizations in CF patients. In this study, 30 children with CF, who were referred to the Digestive Diseases Clinic of the Children's Medical Center in Tehran, were enrolled. Supplementary zinc of 2 mg/kg per day was administered to all patients. Serum level of zinc, alkaline phosphatase, and albumin as well as BMI, FEV1, and number of hospitalizations were compared before and after zinc administration. Height (p<0.001), weight (p<0.001) and BMI (p=0.001) were significantly increased after zinc, while the number of hospitalizations was significantly decreased (p=0.023). In contrast to patients with normal pulmonary function tests who received supplement therapy, BMI was not increased in those with abnormal pulmonary function after supplementary zinc. Supplementary zinc can increase BMI in CF patients, mostly in those with normal pulmonary function. While supplementary zinc may decrease the number of hospitalizations, other factors can also influence the hospitalization number.

  12. Abnormal Gray Matter Shape, Thickness, and Volume in the Motor Cortico-Subcortical Loop in Idiopathic Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder: Association with Clinical and Motor Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahayel, Shady; Postuma, Ronald B; Montplaisir, Jacques; Bedetti, Christophe; Brambati, Simona; Carrier, Julie; Monchi, Oury; Bourgouin, Pierre-Alexandre; Gaubert, Malo; Gagnon, Jean-François

    2018-02-01

    Idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a major risk factor for Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Anatomical gray matter abnormalities in the motor cortico-subcortical loop areas remain under studied in iRBD patients. We acquired T1-weighted images and administrated quantitative motor tasks in 41 patients with polysomnography-confirmed iRBD and 41 healthy subjects. Cortical thickness and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analyses were performed to investigate local cortical thickness and gray matter volume changes, vertex-based shape analysis to investigate shape of subcortical structures, and structure-based volumetric analyses to investigate volumes of subcortical and brainstem structures. Cortical thickness analysis revealed thinning in iRBD patients in bilateral medial superior frontal, orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate cortices, and the right dorsolateral primary motor cortex. VBM results showed lower gray matter volume in iRBD patients in the frontal lobes, anterior cingulate gyri, and caudate nucleus. Shape analysis revealed extensive surface contraction in the external and internal segments of the left pallidum. Clinical and motor impaired features in iRBD were associated with anomalies of the motor cortico-subcortical loop. In summary, iRBD patients showed numerous gray matter structural abnormalities in the motor cortico-subcortical loop, which are associated with lower motor performance and clinical manifestations of iRBD. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Motor control for a brushless DC motor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, William J. (Inventor); Faulkner, Dennis T. (Inventor)

    1985-01-01

    This invention relates to a motor control system for a brushless DC motor having an inverter responsively coupled to the motor control system and in power transmitting relationship to the motor. The motor control system includes a motor rotor speed detecting unit that provides a pulsed waveform signal proportional to rotor speed. This pulsed waveform signal is delivered to the inverter to thereby cause an inverter fundamental current waveform output to the motor to be switched at a rate proportional to said rotor speed. In addition, the fundamental current waveform is also pulse width modulated at a rate proportional to the rotor speed. A fundamental current waveform phase advance circuit is controllingly coupled to the inverter. The phase advance circuit is coupled to receive the pulsed waveform signal from the motor rotor speed detecting unit and phase advance the pulsed waveform signal as a predetermined function of motor speed to thereby cause the fundamental current waveform to be advanced and thereby compensate for fundamental current waveform lag due to motor winding reactance which allows the motor to operate at higher speeds than the motor is rated while providing optimal torque and therefore increased efficiency.

  14. Stimulating neural plasticity with real-time fMRI neurofeedback in Huntington's disease: A proof of concept study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papoutsi, Marina; Weiskopf, Nikolaus; Langbehn, Douglas; Reilmann, Ralf; Rees, Geraint; Tabrizi, Sarah J

    2018-03-01

    Novel methods that stimulate neuroplasticity are increasingly being studied to treat neurological and psychiatric conditions. We sought to determine whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback training is feasible in Huntington's disease (HD), and assess any factors that contribute to its effectiveness. In this proof-of-concept study, we used this technique to train 10 patients with HD to volitionally regulate the activity of their supplementary motor area (SMA). We collected detailed behavioral and neuroimaging data before and after training to examine changes of brain function and structure, and cognitive and motor performance. We found that patients overall learned to increase activity of the target region during training with variable effects on cognitive and motor behavior. Improved cognitive and motor performance after training predicted increases in pre-SMA grey matter volume, fMRI activity in the left putamen, and increased SMA-left putamen functional connectivity. Although we did not directly target the putamen and corticostriatal connectivity during neurofeedback training, our results suggest that training the SMA can lead to regulation of associated networks with beneficial effects in behavior. We conclude that neurofeedback training can induce plasticity in patients with Huntington's disease despite the presence of neurodegeneration, and the effects of training a single region may engage other regions and circuits implicated in disease pathology. © 2017 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Study of asymmetry in motor areas related to handedness using the fMRI BOLD response Gaussian convolution model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao Qing [School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); School of Applied Mathematics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Chen Huafu [School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); School of Applied Mathematics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)], E-mail: Chenhf@uestc.edu.cn; Gong Qiyong [Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041 (China)

    2009-10-30

    Brain asymmetry is a phenomenon well known for handedness, and has been studied in the motor cortex. However, few studies have quantitatively assessed the asymmetrical cortical activities for handedness in motor areas. In the present study, we systematically and quantitatively investigated asymmetry in the left and right primary motor cortices during sequential finger movements using the Gaussian convolution model approach based on the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response. Six right-handed and six left-handed subjects were recruited to perform three types of hand movement tasks. The results for the expected value of the Gaussian convolution model showed that it took the dominant hand a longer average interval of response delay regardless of the handedness and bi- or uni-manual performance. The results for the standard deviation of the Gaussian model suggested that in the mass neurons, these intervals of the dominant hand were much more variable than those of the non-dominant hand. When comparing bi-manual movement conditions with uni-manual movement conditions in the primary motor cortex (PMC), both the expected value and standard deviation in the Gaussian function were significantly smaller (p < 0.05) in the bi-manual conditions, showing that the movement of the non-dominant hand influenced that of the dominant hand.

  16. Study of asymmetry in motor areas related to handedness using the fMRI BOLD response Gaussian convolution model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Qing; Chen Huafu; Gong Qiyong

    2009-01-01

    Brain asymmetry is a phenomenon well known for handedness, and has been studied in the motor cortex. However, few studies have quantitatively assessed the asymmetrical cortical activities for handedness in motor areas. In the present study, we systematically and quantitatively investigated asymmetry in the left and right primary motor cortices during sequential finger movements using the Gaussian convolution model approach based on the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response. Six right-handed and six left-handed subjects were recruited to perform three types of hand movement tasks. The results for the expected value of the Gaussian convolution model showed that it took the dominant hand a longer average interval of response delay regardless of the handedness and bi- or uni-manual performance. The results for the standard deviation of the Gaussian model suggested that in the mass neurons, these intervals of the dominant hand were much more variable than those of the non-dominant hand. When comparing bi-manual movement conditions with uni-manual movement conditions in the primary motor cortex (PMC), both the expected value and standard deviation in the Gaussian function were significantly smaller (p < 0.05) in the bi-manual conditions, showing that the movement of the non-dominant hand influenced that of the dominant hand.

  17. No specific role for the manual motor system in processing the meanings of words related to the hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha ePostle

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study explored whether semantic and motor systems are functionally interwoven via the use of a dual-task paradigm. According to embodied language accounts that propose an automatic and necessary involvement of the motor system in conceptual processing, concurrent processing of hand-related information should interfere more with hand movements than processing of unrelated body-part (i.e., foot, mouth information. Across three experiments, 100 right-handed participants performed left- or right-hand tapping movements while repeatedly reading action words related to different body-parts, or different body-part names, in both aloud and silent conditions. Concurrent reading of single words related to specific body-parts, or the same words embedded in sentences differing in syntactic and phonological complexity (to manipulate context-relevant processing, and reading while viewing videos of the actions and body-parts described by the target words (to elicit visuomotor associations all interfered with right-hand but not left-hand tapping rate. However, this motor interference was not affected differentially by hand-related stimuli. Thus, the results provide no support for proposals that body-part specific resources in cortical motor systems are shared between overt manual movements and meaning-related processing of words related to the hand.

  18. An RNA Domain Imparts Specificity and Selectivity to a Viral DNA Packaging Motor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Wei; Jardine, Paul J.

    2015-01-01

    ABSTRACT During assembly, double-stranded DNA viruses, including bacteriophages and herpesviruses, utilize a powerful molecular motor to package their genomic DNA into a preformed viral capsid. An integral component of the packaging motor in the Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage ϕ29 is a viral genome-encoded pentameric ring of RNA (prohead RNA [pRNA]). pRNA is a 174-base transcript comprised of two domains, domains I and II. Early studies initially isolated a 120-base form (domain I only) that retains high biological activity in vitro; hence, no function could be assigned to domain II. Here we define a role for this domain in the packaging process. DNA packaging using restriction digests of ϕ29 DNA showed that motors with the 174-base pRNA supported the correct polarity of DNA packaging, selectively packaging the DNA left end. In contrast, motors containing the 120-base pRNA had compromised specificity, packaging both left- and right-end fragments. The presence of domain II also provides selectivity in competition assays with genomes from related phages. Furthermore, motors with the 174-base pRNA were restrictive, in that they packaged only one DNA fragment into the head, whereas motors with the 120-base pRNA packaged several fragments into the head, indicating multiple initiation events. These results show that domain II imparts specificity and stringency to the motor during the packaging initiation events that precede DNA translocation. Heteromeric rings of pRNA demonstrated that one or two copies of domain II were sufficient to impart this selectivity/stringency. Although ϕ29 differs from other double-stranded DNA phages in having an RNA motor component, the function provided by pRNA is carried on the motor protein components in other phages. IMPORTANCE During virus assembly, genome packaging involves the delivery of newly synthesized viral nucleic acid into a protein shell. In the double-stranded DNA phages and herpesviruses, this is accomplished by a powerful

  19. An RNA Domain Imparts Specificity and Selectivity to a Viral DNA Packaging Motor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Wei; Jardine, Paul J; Grimes, Shelley

    2015-12-01

    During assembly, double-stranded DNA viruses, including bacteriophages and herpesviruses, utilize a powerful molecular motor to package their genomic DNA into a preformed viral capsid. An integral component of the packaging motor in the Bacillus subtilis bacteriophage ϕ29 is a viral genome-encoded pentameric ring of RNA (prohead RNA [pRNA]). pRNA is a 174-base transcript comprised of two domains, domains I and II. Early studies initially isolated a 120-base form (domain I only) that retains high biological activity in vitro; hence, no function could be assigned to domain II. Here we define a role for this domain in the packaging process. DNA packaging using restriction digests of ϕ29 DNA showed that motors with the 174-base pRNA supported the correct polarity of DNA packaging, selectively packaging the DNA left end. In contrast, motors containing the 120-base pRNA had compromised specificity, packaging both left- and right-end fragments. The presence of domain II also provides selectivity in competition assays with genomes from related phages. Furthermore, motors with the 174-base pRNA were restrictive, in that they packaged only one DNA fragment into the head, whereas motors with the 120-base pRNA packaged several fragments into the head, indicating multiple initiation events. These results show that domain II imparts specificity and stringency to the motor during the packaging initiation events that precede DNA translocation. Heteromeric rings of pRNA demonstrated that one or two copies of domain II were sufficient to impart this selectivity/stringency. Although ϕ29 differs from other double-stranded DNA phages in having an RNA motor component, the function provided by pRNA is carried on the motor protein components in other phages. During virus assembly, genome packaging involves the delivery of newly synthesized viral nucleic acid into a protein shell. In the double-stranded DNA phages and herpesviruses, this is accomplished by a powerful molecular motor

  20. On how the motor cortices resolve an inter-hemispheric response conflict: an event-related EEG potential-guided TMS study of the flankers task

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Verleger, Rolf; Kuniecki, Michal; Möller, Friderike

    2009-01-01

    in the contralateral first dorsal interosseus muscle was taken as an index of corticospinal excitability. Guided by the previous LRP measurement, magnetic stimuli were applied 0-90 ms after the individual LRP peak, to cover the epoch of conflict resolution. When flankers were incompatible with the target, excitability......An important aspect of human motor control is the ability to resolve conflicting response tendencies. Here we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to track the time course of excitability changes in the primary motor hand areas (M1(HAND)) while the motor system resolved...... response conflicts. Healthy volunteers had to respond fast with their right and left index fingers to right- and left-pointing arrows. These central target stimuli were preceded by flanking arrows, inducing premature response tendencies which competed with correct response activation. The time point...

  1. Supplementary nitrogen in leeks based on crop nitrogen status

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Booij, R.; Meurs, E.J.J.

    2002-01-01

    From a number of basic relationships between several crop ecological components (Booij et al., 1996a) a system was developed for giving supplementary nitrogen application in leeks, that was based on the measurement of light interception. A description of the approach is given and a comparison is

  2. Why the Left Hemisphere Is Dominant for Speech Production: Connecting the Dots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harvey Martin Sussman

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Evidence from seemingly disparate areas of speech/language research is reviewed to form a unified theoretical account for why the left hemisphere is specialized for speech production. Research findings from studies investigating hemispheric lateralization of infant babbling, the primacy of the syllable in phonological structure, rhyming performance in split-brain patients, rhyming ability and phonetic categorization in children diagnosed with developmental apraxia of speech, rules governing exchange errors in spoonerisms, organizational principles of neocortical control of learned motor behaviors, and multi-electrode recordings of human neuronal responses to speech sounds are described and common threads highlighted. It is suggested that the emergence, in developmental neurogenesis, of a hard-wired, syllabically-organized, neural substrate representing the phonemic sound elements of one’s language, particularly the vocalic nucleus, is the crucial factor underlying the left hemisphere’s dominance for speech production.

  3. A model to decompose the performance of supplementary private health insurance markets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leidl, Reiner

    2008-09-01

    For an individual insurance firm offering supplementary private health insurance, a model is developed to decompose market performance in terms of insurer profits. For the individual contract, the model specifies the conditions under which adverse selection, cream skimming, and moral hazard occur, shows the impact of information on contracting, and the profit contribution. Contracts are determined by comparing willingness to pay for insurance with the individual's risk position, and information on both sides of the market. Finally, performance is aggregated up to the total market. The model provides a framework to explain the attractiveness of supplementary markets to insurers.

  4. Supplementary training of nuclear power plant occupational physicians

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Letard, H.; Carre, M.

    1980-01-01

    A short description is given of the supplementary training course given to nuclear power plant occupational physicians within the frame of the Division of occupational medicine at Electricite de France. Such training is necessary to deal with the specific problems involved. However, it is only a complement to medical studies and the special degree in occupational medicine and industrial hygiene [fr

  5. Structural and functional cerebral correlates of hypnotic suggestibility.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexa Huber

    Full Text Available Little is known about the neural bases of hypnotic suggestibility, a cognitive trait referring to the tendency to respond to hypnotic suggestions. In the present magnetic resonance imaging study, we performed regression analyses to assess hypnotic suggestibility-related differences in local gray matter volume, using voxel-based morphometry, and in waking resting state functional connectivity of 10 resting state networks, in 37 healthy women. Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with gray matter volume in portions of the left superior and medial frontal gyri, roughly overlapping with the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor area, and negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the left superior temporal gyrus and insula. In the functional connectivity analysis, hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with functional connectivity between medial posterior areas, including bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and both the lateral visual network and the left fronto-parietal network; a positive correlation was also found with functional connectivity between the executive-control network and a right postcentral/parietal area. In contrast, hypnotic suggestibility was negatively correlated with functional connectivity between the right fronto-parietal network and the right lateral thalamus. These findings demonstrate for the first time a correlation between hypnotic suggestibility, the structural features of specific cortical regions, and the functional connectivity during the normal resting state of brain structures involved in imagery and self-monitoring activity.

  6. Structural and functional cerebral correlates of hypnotic suggestibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huber, Alexa; Lui, Fausta; Duzzi, Davide; Pagnoni, Giuseppe; Porro, Carlo Adolfo

    2014-01-01

    Little is known about the neural bases of hypnotic suggestibility, a cognitive trait referring to the tendency to respond to hypnotic suggestions. In the present magnetic resonance imaging study, we performed regression analyses to assess hypnotic suggestibility-related differences in local gray matter volume, using voxel-based morphometry, and in waking resting state functional connectivity of 10 resting state networks, in 37 healthy women. Hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with gray matter volume in portions of the left superior and medial frontal gyri, roughly overlapping with the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor area, and negatively correlated with gray matter volume in the left superior temporal gyrus and insula. In the functional connectivity analysis, hypnotic suggestibility was positively correlated with functional connectivity between medial posterior areas, including bilateral posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus, and both the lateral visual network and the left fronto-parietal network; a positive correlation was also found with functional connectivity between the executive-control network and a right postcentral/parietal area. In contrast, hypnotic suggestibility was negatively correlated with functional connectivity between the right fronto-parietal network and the right lateral thalamus. These findings demonstrate for the first time a correlation between hypnotic suggestibility, the structural features of specific cortical regions, and the functional connectivity during the normal resting state of brain structures involved in imagery and self-monitoring activity.

  7. Left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holi, Matti M; Eronen, Markku; Toivonen, Kari; Toivonen, Päivi; Marttunen, Mauri; Naukkarinen, Hannu

    2004-01-01

    In a double-blind, controlled study, we examined the therapeutic effects of high-frequency left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on schizophrenia symptoms. A total of 22 chronic hospitalized schizophrenia patients were randomly assigned to 2 weeks (10 sessions) of real or sham rTMS. rTMS was given with the following parameters: 20 trains of 5-second 10-Hz stimulation at 100 percent motor threshold, 30 seconds apart. Effects on positive and negative symptoms, self-reported symptoms, rough neuropsychological functioning, and hormones were assessed. Although there was a significant improvement in both groups in most of the symptom measures, no real differences were found between the groups. A decrease of more than 20 percent in the total PANSS score was found in 7 control subjects but only 1 subject from the real rTMS group. There was no change in hormone levels or neuropsychological functioning, measured by the MMSE, in either group. Left prefrontal rTMS (with the used parameters) seems to produce a significant nonspecific effect of the treatment procedure but no therapeutic effect in the most chronic and severely ill schizophrenia patients.

  8. Alleviation SSR and Low Frequency Power Oscillations in Series Compensated Transmission Line using SVC Supplementary Controllers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sanjiv; Kumar, Narendra

    2017-06-01

    In this work, supplementary sub-synchronous damping controllers (SSDC) are proposed for damping sub-synchronous oscillations in power systems with series compensated transmission lines. Series compensation have extensively been used as effective means of increasing the power transfer capability of a transmission lines and improving transient stability limits of power systems. Series compensation with transmission lines may cause sub-synchronous resonance (SSR). The eigenvalue investigation tool is used to ascertain the existence of SSR. It is shown that the addition of supplementary controller is able to stabilize all unstable modes for T-network model. Eigenvalue investigation and time domain transient simulation of detailed nonlinear system are considered to investigate the performance of the controllers. The efficacies of the suggested supplementary controllers are compared on the IEEE first benchmark model for computer simulations of SSR by means of time domain simulation in Matlab/Simulink environment. Supplementary SSDC are considered in order to compare effectiveness of SSDC during higher loading in alleviating the small signal stability problem.

  9. Spoken Narrative Assessment: A Supplementary Measure of Children's Creativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Miranda Kit-Yi; So, Wing Chee

    2016-01-01

    This study developed a spoken narrative (i.e., storytelling) assessment as a supplementary measure of children's creativity. Both spoken and gestural contents of children's spoken narratives were coded to assess their verbal and nonverbal creativity. The psychometric properties of the coding system for the spoken narrative assessment were…

  10. Supplementary winter feeding and reproduction of beef heifers on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Supplementary winter feeding and reproduction of beef heifers on Dohne sourveld. JA Erasmus, HH Barnard. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for ...

  11. Is the motor system necessary for processing action and abstract emotion words? Evidence from focal brain lesions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felix R. Dreyer

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Neuroimaging and neuropsychological experiments suggest that modality-preferential cortices, including motor- and somatosensory areas contribute to the semantic processing of action related concrete words. In contrast, a possible role of modality-preferential – including sensorimotor – areas in processing abstract meaning remains under debate. However, recent fMRI studies indicate an involvement of the left sensorimotor cortex in the processing of abstract-emotional words (e.g. love. But are these areas indeed necessary for processing action-related and abstract words? The current study now investigates word processing in two patients suffering from focal brain lesion in the left frontocentral motor system. A speeded lexical decision task (LDT on meticulously matched word groups showed that the recognition of nouns from different semantic categories – related to food, animals, tools and abstract-emotional concepts – was differentially affected. Whereas patient HS with a lesion in dorsolateral central sensorimotor cortex next to the hand area showed a category-specific deficit in recognizing tool words, patient CA suffering from lesion centered in the left SMA was primarily impaired in abstract-emotional word processing. These results point to a causal role of the motor cortex in the semantic processing of both action-related object concepts and abstract-emotional concepts and therefore suggest that the motor areas previously found active in action-related and abstract word processing can serve a meaning-specific necessary role in word recognition. The category-specific nature of the observed dissociations is difficult to reconcile with the idea that sensorimotor systems are somehow peripheral or ‘epiphenomenal’ to meaning and concept processing. Rather, our results are consistent with the claim that cognition is grounded in action and perception and based on distributed action perception circuits reaching into sensorimotor areas.

  12. Funtional MRI of cerebral motor cortex: comparison between 1.0 T and 1.5 T

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, Hyun Jung; Yu, In Kyu; Song, In Chan; Han, Moon Hee; Lee, Heung Kyu; Chang, Kee Hyun

    1997-01-01

    To evaluate the feasibility of functional MR imaging(fMRI) with a 1.0 T scanner, fMRI of normal cerebral motor cortex at 1.0 T was compared with that at 1.5 T. FMRI of bilateral cerebral motor cortices (left, seven; right, six) was performed in seven healthy male volunteers aged 26-34 (mean 29) years,with BOLD contrast at both 1.0 T and 1.5 T units(Siemens MR scanners). Using both these systems,two-dimensional(2D) FLASH images were obtained with TR/TE of 90/56, flip angle of 40 deg, matrix size 128 * 128, slice thickness of 5mm, and FOV 23cm. A sequence consisting of five-image-off phase(rest phase) followed by five-image-on phase(activation with finger movement) was repeated four times without pause at a single plane. The same study was perfomed for the contralateral motor cortex in each volunteer. Using the z-test, activation images were obtained for the signal difference between on-and off-phases (p<0.05) and were then superimposed on 2D FLASH anatomic images at the same plane. Percentage changes of signal intensities(PCSIs) and numbers of activated pixels were compared, using the non-paramatric t-test, and periodicity of signal changes was compared, using the Mentel-Haenszel Chi-square test. Mean PCSIs at 1.5 T and 1.0 T in the left motor cortex were 3.13 ±1.20% and 1.43±0.56%, respectively(p=0.009),and in the right, 1.78±0.95% and 1.34±0.28%, respectively(p=0.32). The mean number of activated pixels at 1.5 T and 1.0 T in the left cortex was 21.14±10.67 and 19.86±11.36, respectively (p=0.83), and in the right, 22.5±6.47 and 16.8±8.47, respectively (p=0.22). At 1.5 T, periodicity of signal changes was seen in the left cortex in six of seven volunteers, and in the right cortex, in four of six. At 1.0 T, all showed periodicity (left:p=0.32;right:p=0.14). PCSIs in the dominant hemispheres were significantly higher at 1.5 T, but no other indicators showed significant differences between 1.0 T and 1.5 T. Acceptable fMRI can therefore be carried out with a 1

  13. Convolutional neural network for high-accuracy functional near-infrared spectroscopy in a brain-computer interface: three-class classification of rest, right-, and left-hand motor execution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trakoolwilaiwan, Thanawin; Behboodi, Bahareh; Lee, Jaeseok; Kim, Kyungsoo; Choi, Ji-Woong

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this work is to develop an effective brain-computer interface (BCI) method based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In order to improve the performance of the BCI system in terms of accuracy, the ability to discriminate features from input signals and proper classification are desired. Previous studies have mainly extracted features from the signal manually, but proper features need to be selected carefully. To avoid performance degradation caused by manual feature selection, we applied convolutional neural networks (CNNs) as the automatic feature extractor and classifier for fNIRS-based BCI. In this study, the hemodynamic responses evoked by performing rest, right-, and left-hand motor execution tasks were measured on eight healthy subjects to compare performances. Our CNN-based method provided improvements in classification accuracy over conventional methods employing the most commonly used features of mean, peak, slope, variance, kurtosis, and skewness, classified by support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN). Specifically, up to 6.49% and 3.33% improvement in classification accuracy was achieved by CNN compared with SVM and ANN, respectively.

  14. Pure agraphia after infarction in the superior and middle portions of the left precentral gyrus: Dissociation between Kanji and Kana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurosaki, Yoshiko; Hashimoto, Ryusaku; Tatsumi, Hiroshi; Hadano, Kazuo

    2016-04-01

    The present study describes a Japanese patient with pure agraphia displaying differential disturbances in processing Kanji (morphogram) and Kana (syllabogram) letters after an infarction in the middle and superior portions of the left precentral gyrus. Kana errors reflected the patient's difficulty with retrieving both motor and visual letter images, whereas Kanji errors included partial letter stroke omissions or additions. This present case suggests that differences in writing disturbances between Kana and Kanji letters are caused by a differential dependency on letter motor images. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Probabilistic diffusion tractography reveals improvement of structural network in musicians.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianfu Li

    Full Text Available PURPOSE: Musicians experience a large amount of information transfer and integration of complex sensory, motor, and auditory processes when training and playing musical instruments. Therefore, musicians are a useful model in which to investigate neural adaptations in the brain. METHODS: Here, based on diffusion-weighted imaging, probabilistic tractography was used to determine the architecture of white matter anatomical networks in musicians and non-musicians. Furthermore, the features of the white matter networks were analyzed using graph theory. RESULTS: Small-world properties of the white matter network were observed in both groups. Compared with non-musicians, the musicians exhibited significantly increased connectivity strength in the left and right supplementary motor areas, the left calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex and the right caudate nucleus, as well as a significantly larger weighted clustering coefficient in the right olfactory cortex, the left medial superior frontal gyrus, the right gyrus rectus, the left lingual gyrus, the left supramarginal gyrus, and the right pallidum. Furthermore, there were differences in the node betweenness centrality in several regions. However, no significant differences in topological properties were observed at a global level. CONCLUSIONS: We illustrated preliminary findings to extend the network level understanding of white matter plasticity in musicians who have had long-term musical training. These structural, network-based findings may indicate that musicians have enhanced information transmission efficiencies in local white matter networks that are related to musical training.

  16. Neural correlates and network connectivity underlying narrative production and comprehension: a combined fMRI and PET study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AbdulSabur, Nuria Y; Xu, Yisheng; Liu, Siyuan; Chow, Ho Ming; Baxter, Miranda; Carson, Jessica; Braun, Allen R

    2014-08-01

    The neural correlates of narrative production and comprehension remain poorly understood. Here, using positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), contrast and functional network connectivity analyses we comprehensively characterize the neural mechanisms underlying these complex behaviors. Eighteen healthy subjects told and listened to fictional stories during scanning. In addition to traditional language areas (e.g., left inferior frontal and posterior middle temporal gyri), both narrative production and comprehension engaged regions associated with mentalizing and situation model construction (e.g., dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, precuneus and inferior parietal lobules) as well as neocortical premotor areas, such as the pre-supplementary motor area and left dorsal premotor cortex. Narrative comprehension alone showed marked bilaterality, activating right hemisphere homologs of perisylvian language areas. Narrative production remained predominantly left lateralized, uniquely activating executive and motor-related regions essential to language formulation and articulation. Connectivity analyses revealed strong associations between language areas and the superior and middle temporal gyri during both tasks. However, only during storytelling were these same language-related regions connected to cortical and subcortical motor regions. In contrast, during story comprehension alone, they were strongly linked to regions supporting mentalizing. Thus, when employed in a more complex, ecologically-valid context, language production and comprehension show both overlapping and idiosyncratic patterns of activation and functional connectivity. Importantly, in each case the language system is integrated with regions that support other cognitive and sensorimotor domains. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Exploring the Relationship between Supplementary Schools and "Cohesive Communities"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Anthea

    2013-01-01

    The number of supplementary schools in England serving minority communities continues to grow. They are popular with the parents of such communities because they often feel their children are disadvantaged in mainstream schools and not afforded the opportunities or the learning environment that is conducive to their children achieving their full…

  18. reaction of some rumen micro flora to different supplementary feeds

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

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    purpose of this study was to evaluate rumen microbial changes as the function of varying supplementary .... conditions and altitude of 2400 m.a.s.l. Animal ... temperature in water bath with continuous supply ... llowed by boiling for 5 minutes.

  19. Human brain mapping of language-related function on 1.5T magnetic resonance system: focused on motor language function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Hee Young; Kim, Jae Hyoung; Shin, Taemin; Piao, Xiang Hao; Kim, Jae Soo; Lee, Gyung Kyu; Park, Il Soon; Park, Ji Hoon; Kang, Su Jin; You, Jin Jong; Chung, Sung Hoon

    1998-01-01

    To investigate the feasibility of functional MR imaging of motor language function and its usefulness in the determination of hemispheric language dominance. In order to activate the motor center of language, six subjects ( 5 right-handed, 1 left-handed: 3 males: 3 females) generated words. They were requested to do this silently, without physical articulation, in response to English letters presented visually. Gradient-echo images (TR/TE/flip angle, 80/60/40 deg; 64 x 128 matrix; 10 mm thickness) were obtained in three axial planes including the inferior frontal gyrus. Functional maps were created by the postprocessing of gradient-echo images, including subtraction and statistics. Areas of activation were topographically analyzed and numbers of activated pixels in each region were compared between right and left sides. The reproducibility of functional maps was tested by repetition of functional imaging in the same subjects. Our results suggest that functional MR imaging can depict the activation of motor language function in the brain and can be used a useful non-invasive method for determining the hemispheric dominance of language. (author). 26 refs., 3 figs

  20. Stimulus-dependent deliberation process leading to a specific motor action demonstrated via a multi-channel EEG analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonja eHenz

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine whether a deliberative process, leading to a motor action, is detectable in high density EEG recordings. Subjects were required to press one of two buttons. In a simple motor task the subject knew which button to press, whilst in a color-word Stroop task subjects had to press the right button with the right index finger when meaning and color coincided, or the left button with the left index finger when meaning and color were disparate.EEG recordings obtained during the simple motor task showed a sequence of positive (P and negative (N cortical potentials (P1-N1-P2 which are assumed to be related to the processing of the movement.The sequence of cortical potentials was similar in EEG recordings of subjects having to deliberate over how to respond, but the above sequence (P1-N1-P2 was preceded by slowly increasing negativity (N0, with N0 being assumed to represent the end of the deliberation process.Our data suggest the existence of neurophysiological correlates of deliberative processes.

  1. Brain volumetry and self-regulation of brain activity relevant for neurofeedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ninaus, M; Kober, S E; Witte, M; Koschutnig, K; Neuper, C; Wood, G

    2015-09-01

    Neurofeedback is a technique to learn to control brain signals by means of real time feedback. In the present study, the individual ability to learn two EEG neurofeedback protocols - sensorimotor rhythm and gamma rhythm - was related to structural properties of the brain. The volumes in the anterior insula bilaterally, left thalamus, right frontal operculum, right putamen, right middle frontal gyrus, and right lingual gyrus predicted the outcomes of sensorimotor rhythm training. Gray matter volumes in the supplementary motor area and left middle frontal gyrus predicted the outcomes of gamma rhythm training. These findings combined with further evidence from the literature are compatible with the existence of a more general self-control network, which through self-referential and self-control processes regulates neurofeedback learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. High efficiency motors; Motores de alta eficiencia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uranga Favela, Ivan Jaime [Energia Controlada de Mexico, S. A. de C. V., Mexico, D. F. (Mexico)

    1993-12-31

    This paper is a technical-financial study of the high efficiency and super-premium motors. As it is widely known, more than 60% of the electrical energy generated in the country is used for the operation of motors, in industry as well as in commerce. Therefore the importance that the motors have in the efficient energy use. [Espanol] El presente trabajo es un estudio tecnico-financiero de los motores de alta eficiencia y los motores super premium. Como es ampliamente conocido, mas del 60% de la energia electrica generada en el pais, es utilizada para accionar motores, dentro de la industria y el comercio. De alli la importancia que los motores tienen en el uso eficiente de la energia.

  3. High efficiency motors; Motores de alta eficiencia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Uranga Favela, Ivan Jaime [Energia Controlada de Mexico, S. A. de C. V., Mexico, D. F. (Mexico)

    1992-12-31

    This paper is a technical-financial study of the high efficiency and super-premium motors. As it is widely known, more than 60% of the electrical energy generated in the country is used for the operation of motors, in industry as well as in commerce. Therefore the importance that the motors have in the efficient energy use. [Espanol] El presente trabajo es un estudio tecnico-financiero de los motores de alta eficiencia y los motores super premium. Como es ampliamente conocido, mas del 60% de la energia electrica generada en el pais, es utilizada para accionar motores, dentro de la industria y el comercio. De alli la importancia que los motores tienen en el uso eficiente de la energia.

  4. Provision of Supplementary Load Frequency Control via Aggregation of Air Conditioning Loads

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Zhou

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The integration of large-scale renewable energy poses great challenges for the operation of power system because of its increased frequency fluctuations. More load frequency control (LFC resources are demanded in order to maintain a stable system with more renewable energy injected. Unlike the costly LFC resources on generation side, the thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs on the demand side become an attractive solution on account of its substantial quantities and heat-storage capacity. It generally contains air conditioners (ACs, water heaters and fridges. In this paper, the supplementary LFC is extracted by the modeling and controlling of aggregated ACs. We first present a control framework integrating the supplementary LFC with the traditional LFC. Then, a change-time-priority-list method is proposed to control power output taking into account customers’ satisfaction. Simulations on a single-area power system with wind power integration demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The impact of ambient temperature changes and customer preferences on room temperature is also involved in the discussion. Results show that the supplementary LFC provided by ACs could closely track the LFC signals and effectively reduce the frequency deviation.

  5. EDUCATIONAL PECULIARITIES AND DIFFICULTIES OF CHILDREN WITH LEFT-SIDED LATERALITY: THE TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Sitnikova

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays there is a significant increase of the incidence of left-handedness and sinistrality among schoolchildren. Theydemonstrate a large number of left-sided motor and sensory preferences which are considered as external markers offunctional hemispheric asymmetry of the brain. The purposes of this study are to investigate gender peculiarities and specificityof age-related dynamics of laterality pattern’s formation in junior schoolchildren and to find out educational peculiarities anddifficulties of left-handed children. The findings show that left-handers differ greatly in their mental development by havingsome peculiarities of intelligence, world’s perception and prevailing thinking strategies, ways of memorization, specificity ofemotional-affective expression. The main problems of left-handed children in school performance are academic failure, lack ofperseverance, anxiety neurosis, and extreme emotional lability. Integrated development of the left hemisphere and the righthemisphere thinking of left-handed schoolchildren is a favorable condition for harmonious personal and intellectualdevelopment and effective mastering of various modules of the school curriculum. The technological solution of the problem ofteaching the children with left-sided laterality is to include in educational programs some special exercises to developimagination, emotional sensitivity, integrity of perception, global view to the problems, creativeness, and original approachesto tasks’ solving. So a complex program for the intensive development of the right hemisphere of children who demonstrateleft-sided laterality to overcome the possible failure at primary school is proposed in this paper.

  6. Primary motor cortex functionally contributes to language comprehension: An online rTMS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vukovic, Nikola; Feurra, Matteo; Shpektor, Anna; Myachykov, Andriy; Shtyrov, Yury

    2017-02-01

    Among various questions pertinent to grounding human cognitive functions in a neurobiological substrate, the association between language and motor brain structures is a particularly debated one in neuroscience and psychology. While many studies support a broadly distributed model of language and semantics grounded, among other things, in the general modality-specific systems, theories disagree as to whether motor and sensory cortex activity observed during language processing is functional or epiphenomenal. Here, we assessed the role of motor areas in linguistic processing by investigating the responses of 28 healthy volunteers to different word types in semantic and lexical decision tasks, following repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of primary motor cortex. We found that early rTMS (delivered within 200ms of word onset) produces a left-lateralised and meaning-specific change in reaction speed, slowing down behavioural responses to action-related words, and facilitating abstract words - an effect present only during semantic, but not lexical, decision. We interpret these data in light of action-perception theory of language, bolstering the claim that motor cortical areas play a functional role in language comprehension. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The Mechanisms of Space-Time Association: Comparing Motor and Perceptual Contributions in Time Reproduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabbri, Marco; Cellini, Nicola; Martoni, Monica; Tonetti, Lorenzo; Natale, Vincenzo

    2013-01-01

    The spatial-temporal association indicates that time is represented spatially along a left-to-right line. It is unclear whether the spatial-temporal association is mainly related to a perceptual or a motor component. In addition, the spatial-temporal association is not consistently found using a time reproduction task. Our rationale for this…

  8. Report of the supplementary measuring program Chernobyl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaas, L.H.

    1988-06-01

    In this report, which is a continuation of the report of the Dutch Coordination Commission for measurement of Radioactivity and Xenobiotic materials (CCRX) ''Radioactive contamination in the Netherlands caused by the reactor accident in Chernobylsk'' of October 1986, the results are discussed of the supplementary measuring programme, till October 1st 1987, and a survey is given of the state of affairs with regard to the execution of the recommendations from the first Chernobylsk report. (H.W.). 53 refs.; 28 figs.; 50 tabs

  9. Analysis on bilateral hindlimb mapping in motor cortex of the rat by an intracortical microstimulation method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seong, Han Yu; Cho, Ji Young; Choi, Byeong Sam; Min, Joong Kee; Kim, Yong Hwan; Roh, Sung Woo; Kim, Jeong Hoon; Jeon, Sang Ryong

    2014-04-01

    Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a technique that was developed to derive movement representation of the motor cortex. Although rats are now commonly used in motor mapping studies, the precise characteristics of rat motor map, including symmetry and consistency across animals, and the possibility of repeated stimulation have not yet been established. We performed bilateral hindlimb mapping of motor cortex in six Sprague-Dawley rats using ICMS. ICMS was applied to the left and the right cerebral hemisphere at 0.3 mm intervals vertically and horizontally from the bregma, and any movement of the hindlimbs was noted. The majority (80%± 11%) of responses were not restricted to a single joint, which occurred simultaneously at two or three hindlimb joints. The size and shape of hindlimb motor cortex was variable among rats, but existed on the convex side of the cerebral hemisphere in all rats. The results did not show symmetry according to specific joints in each rats. Conclusively, the hindlimb representation in the rat motor cortex was conveniently mapped using ICMS, but the characteristics and inter-individual variability suggest that precise individual mapping is needed to clarify motor distribution in rats.

  10. Optimized Motor Imagery Paradigm Based on Imagining Chinese Characters Writing Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Zhaoyang; Allison, Brendan Z; Jin, Jing; Zhang, Yu; Wang, Xingyu; Li, Wei; Cichocki, Andrzej

    2017-07-01

    motor imagery (MI) is a mental representation of motor behavior. The MI-based brain computer interfaces (BCIs) can provide communication for the physically impaired. The performance of MI-based BCI mainly depends on the subject's ability to self-modulate electroencephalogram signals. Proper training can help naive subjects learn to modulate brain activity proficiently. However, training subjects typically involve abstract motor tasks and are time-consuming. to improve the performance of naive subjects during motor imagery, a novel paradigm was presented that would guide naive subjects to modulate brain activity effectively. In this new paradigm, pictures of the left or right hand were used as cues for subjects to finish the motor imagery task. Fourteen healthy subjects (11 male, aged 22-25 years, and mean 23.6±1.16) participated in this study. The task was to imagine writing a Chinese character. Specifically, subjects could imagine hand movements corresponding to the sequence of writing strokes in the Chinese character. This paradigm was meant to find an effective and familiar action for most Chinese people, to provide them with a specific, extensively practiced task and help them modulate brain activity. results showed that the writing task paradigm yielded significantly better performance than the traditional arrow paradigm (p paradigm was easier. the proposed new motor imagery paradigm could guide subjects to help them modulate brain activity effectively. Results showed that there were significant improvements using new paradigm, both in classification accuracy and usability.

  11. Robot-Aided Upper-Limb Rehabilitation Based on Motor Imagery EEG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baoguo Xu

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide. In this paper, a novel robot‐assisted rehabilitation system based on motor imagery electroencephalography (EEG is developed for regular training of neurological rehabilitation for upper limb stroke patients. Firstly, three‐dimensional animation was used to guide the patient image the upper limb movement and EEG signals were acquired by EEG amplifier. Secondly, eigenvectors were extracted by harmonic wavelet transform (HWT and linear discriminant analysis (LDA classifier was utilized to classify the pattern of the left and right upper limb motor imagery EEG signals. Finally, PC triggered the upper limb rehabilitation robot to perform motor therapy and gave the virtual feedback. Using this robot‐assisted upper limb rehabilitation system, the patientʹs EEG of upper limb movement imagination is translated to control rehabilitation robot directly. Consequently, the proposed rehabilitation system can fully explore the patientʹs motivation and attention and directly facilitate upper limb post‐stroke rehabilitation therapy. Experimental results on unimpaired participants were presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the rehabilitation system. Combining robot‐assisted training with motor imagery‐ based BCI will make future rehabilitation therapy more effective. Clinical testing is still required for further proving this assumption.

  12. Does practicing a skill with the expectation of teaching alter motor preparatory cortical dynamics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daou, Marcos; Lohse, Keith R; Miller, Matthew W

    2018-05-01

    Recent evidence suggests practicing a motor skill with the expectation of teaching it enhances learning by increasing information processing during motor preparation. However, the specific motor preparatory processes remain unknown. The present study sought to address this shortcoming by employing EEG to assess participants' motor preparatory processes while they completed a golf putting pretest, and then practiced putting with the expectation of (a) teaching another participant how to putt the next day (teach group, n = 30), or (b) being tested on their putting the next day (test group, n = 30). Participants' EEG during the 3-s prior to and 1-s after initiating putter movement was analyzed. All participants completed posttests 1 day after the practice session. The teach group exhibited better posttest performance (superior learning) relative to the test group, but no group differences in motor preparatory processing (EEG) emerged. However, participants in both groups exhibited linear decreases in both theta power at frontal midline and upper-alpha power over motor areas during putt initiation. These results suggest a decrease in working memory and action monitoring (frontal midline theta), and an increase in motor programming (motor upper-alpha) during putt initiation. Further, participants in both groups exhibited increased frontal midline theta from pretest to practice, but decreases in both upper motor-alpha and upper-alpha coherence between left/right temporal and motor planning regions. These results suggest participants utilized working memory and action monitoring to a greater extent during practice relative to pretest, while refining their motor programming and verbal-analytic/visuospatial involvement in motor programming. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Supplementary tutoring in Trinidad and Tobago: Some implications for policy making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrow, Dorian A.; Lochan, Samuel N.

    2012-06-01

    Globally, private supplementary tutoring is a huge business and the practice is expanding rapidly in many regions of the world where it never existed before. In some of these regions it is posing a novel set of challenges for education planners and policy makers. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which supplementary tutoring is impacting on the goals of the formal education system in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). The participation rate in supplementary tutoring at primary school level in T&T was found to be high (88.2 per cent at Standard Five level), with the majority of the students being privately tutored by their regular school teachers. Their main motivation for taking private tutoring lessons was to try to secure a place in one of the few elite secondary schools in the country. The authors of this paper admit that there is no quick solution to the problem, especially if it is understood as a part of the process of cultural change. They contend that the key to breaking the elitist tradition lies in modifying public understanding about education and convincing parents and citizens at large that a wide range of options and opportunities exists outside the narrow confines of the old colonial economy and the old colonial schools.

  14. Performance of Cement Containing Laterite as Supplementary Cementing Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Bukhari, Z. S.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The utilization of different industrial waste, by-products or other materials such as ground granulated blast furnace slag, silica fume, fly ash, limestone, and kiln dust, etc. as supplemen- tary cementing materials has received considerable attention in recent years. A study has been conducted to look into the performance of laterite as Supplementary Cementing Materials (SCM. The study focuses on compressive strength performance of blended cement containing different percentage of laterite. The cement is replaced accordingly with percentage of 2 %, 5 %, 7 % and 10 % by weight. In addition, the effect of use of three chemically different laterites have been studied on physical performance of cement as in setting time, Le-Chatlier expansion, loss on ignition, insoluble residue, free lime and specifically compressive strength of cement cubes tested at the age of 3, 7, and 28 days. The results show that the strength of cement blended with laterite as SCM is enhanced. Key words: Portland cement, supplementary cementing materials (SCM, laterite, compressive strength KUI – 6/2013 Received January 4, 2012 Accepted February 11, 2013

  15. Running exercise enhances motor functional recovery with inhibition of dendritic regression in the motor cortex after collagenase-induced intracerebral hemorrhage in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takamatsu, Yasuyuki; Tamakoshi, Keigo; Waseda, Yuya; Ishida, Kazuto

    2016-03-01

    Rehabilitative approaches benefit motor functional recovery after stroke and relate to neuronal plasticity. We investigated the effects of a treadmill running exercise on the motor functional recovery and neuronal plasticity after collagenase-induced striatal intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in rats. Male Wistar rats were injected with type IV collagenase into the left striatum to induce ICH. Sham-operated animals were injected with saline instead of collagenase. The animals were randomly assigned to the sham control (SC), the sham exercise (SE), the ICH control (IC), or the ICH exercise (IE) group. The exercise groups were forced to run on a treadmill at a speed of 9 m/min for 30 min/day between days 4 and 14 after surgery. Behavioral tests were performed using a motor deficit score, a beam-walking test and a cylinder test. At fifteen days after surgery, the animals were sacrificed, and their brains were removed. The motor function of the IE group significantly improved compared with the motor function of the IC group. No significant differences in cortical thickness were found between the groups. The IC group had fewer branches and shorter dendrite lengths compared with the sham groups. However, dendritic branches and lengths were not significantly different between the IE and the other groups. Tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) expression levels increased in the IE compared with IC group, but no significant differences in other protein (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF; Nogo-A; Rho-A/Rho-associated protein kinase 2, ROCK2) expression levels were found between the groups. These results suggest that improved motor function after a treadmill running exercise after ICH may be related to the prevention of dendritic regression due to TrkB upregulation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Understanding actions of others: the electrodynamics of the left and right hemispheres. A high-density EEG neuroimaging study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Ortigue

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: When we observe an individual performing a motor act (e.g. grasping a cup we get two types of information on the basis of how the motor act is done and the context: what the agent is doing (i.e. grasping and the intention underlying it (i.e. grasping for drinking. Here we examined the temporal dynamics of the brain activations that follow the observation of a motor act and underlie the observer's capacity to understand what the agent is doing and why. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Volunteers were presented with two-frame video-clips. The first frame (T0 showed an object with or without context; the second frame (T1 showed a hand interacting with the object. The volunteers were instructed to understand the intention of the observed actions while their brain activity was recorded with a high-density 128-channel EEG system. Visual event-related potentials (VEPs were recorded time-locked with the frame showing the hand-object interaction (T1. The data were analyzed by using electrical neuroimaging, which combines a cluster analysis performed on the group-averaged VEPs with the localization of the cortical sources that give rise to different spatio-temporal states of the global electrical field. Electrical neuroimaging results revealed four major steps: 1 bilateral posterior cortical activations; 2 a strong activation of the left posterior temporal and inferior parietal cortices with almost a complete disappearance of activations in the right hemisphere; 3 a significant increase of the activations of the right temporo-parietal region with simultaneously co-active left hemispheric sources, and 4 a significant global decrease of cortical activity accompanied by the appearance of activation of the orbito-frontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that the early striking left hemisphere involvement is due to the activation of a lateralized action-observation/action execution network. The activation of this lateralized network

  17. Reverse Engineering Tone-Deafness: Disrupting Pitch-Matching by Creating Temporary Dysfunctions in the Auditory-Motor Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Hohmann

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Perceiving and producing vocal sounds are important functions of the auditory-motor system and are fundamental to communication. Prior studies have identified a network of brain regions involved in pitch production, specifically pitch matching. Here we reverse engineer the function of the auditory perception-production network by targeting specific cortical regions (e.g., right and left posterior superior temporal (pSTG and posterior inferior frontal gyri (pIFG with cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS—commonly found to decrease excitability in the underlying cortical region—allowing us to causally test the role of particular nodes in this network. Performance on a pitch-matching task was determined before and after 20 min of cathodal stimulation. Acoustic analyses of pitch productions showed impaired accuracy after cathodal stimulation to the left pIFG and the right pSTG in comparison to sham stimulation. Both regions share particular roles in the feedback and feedforward motor control of pitched vocal production with a differential hemispheric dominance.

  18. Effect of an unrelated fluent action on word recognition: A case of motor discrepancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brouillet, Denis; Milhau, Audrey; Brouillet, Thibaut; Servajean, Philippe

    2017-06-01

    It is now well established that motor fluency affects cognitive processes, including memory. In two experiments participants learned a list of words and then performed a recognition task. The original feature of our procedure is that before judging the words they had to perform a fluent gesture (i.e., typing a letter dyad). The dyads comprised letters located on either the right or left side of the keyboard. Participants typed dyads with their right or left index finger; the required movement was either very small (dyad composed of adjacent letters, Experiment 1) or slightly larger (dyad composed of letters separated by one key, experiment 2). The results show that when the gesture was performed in the ipsilateral space the probability of recognizing a word increased (to a lesser extent it is the same with the dominant hand, experiment 2). Moreover, a binary regression logistic highlighted that the probability of recognizing a word was proportional to the speed by which the gesture was performed. These results are discussed in terms of a feeling of familiarity emerging from motor discrepancy.

  19. 75 FR 30850 - Final Supplementary Rules for Camping on Undeveloped Public Lands in Montana, North Dakota, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-02

    ... Supplementary Rules for Camping on Undeveloped Public Lands in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota AGENCY... personal property on undeveloped public lands managed by the BLM in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota... public lands throughout Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. These final supplementary rules will...

  20. ChemEngine: harvesting 3D chemical structures of supplementary data from PDF files.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karthikeyan, Muthukumarasamy; Vyas, Renu

    2016-01-01

    Digital access to chemical journals resulted in a vast array of molecular information that is now available in the supplementary material files in PDF format. However, extracting this molecular information, generally from a PDF document format is a daunting task. Here we present an approach to harvest 3D molecular data from the supporting information of scientific research articles that are normally available from publisher's resources. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of extracting truly computable molecules from PDF file formats in a fast and efficient manner, we have developed a Java based application, namely ChemEngine. This program recognizes textual patterns from the supplementary data and generates standard molecular structure data (bond matrix, atomic coordinates) that can be subjected to a multitude of computational processes automatically. The methodology has been demonstrated via several case studies on different formats of coordinates data stored in supplementary information files, wherein ChemEngine selectively harvested the atomic coordinates and interpreted them as molecules with high accuracy. The reusability of extracted molecular coordinate data was demonstrated by computing Single Point Energies that were in close agreement with the original computed data provided with the articles. It is envisaged that the methodology will enable large scale conversion of molecular information from supplementary files available in the PDF format into a collection of ready- to- compute molecular data to create an automated workflow for advanced computational processes. Software along with source codes and instructions available at https://sourceforge.net/projects/chemengine/files/?source=navbar.Graphical abstract.

  1. A positron emission tomography study of self-paced finger movements at different frequencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawashima, R.; Inoue, K.; Sugiura, M.; Okada, K.; Ogawa, A.; Fukuda, H.

    1999-01-01

    Regional cerebral blood flow was measured in six right-handed volunteers using positron emission tomography during tasks involving repetitive self-paced finger tapping at five different frequencies. The contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex, the pre-supplementary motor area and the cingulate motor area showed significant activation during self-paced finger tapping tasks, compared with the resting state. A positive correlation between the regional cerebral blood flow and the movement frequency was found only in the primary sensorimotor cortex. In the pre-supplementary motor area and the cingulate motor area, however, activity increased when the subject employed movement frequencies faster or slower than his own pace. The same tendency was noted with respect to the relative variability of the inter-tapping interval.The results therefore indicate that the activity of the pre-supplementary motor area and the cingulate motor area may well be related to the increased difficulty in motor control rather than to the execution of the movement itself. (Copyright (c) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

  2. Effect of Cathodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on a Child with Involuntary Movement after Hypoxic Encephalopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayumi Nagai

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation to the supplementary motor area to inhibit involuntary movements of a child. An 8-year-old boy who developed hypoxic encephalopathy after asphyxia at the age of 2 had difficulty in remaining standing without support because of involuntary movements. He was instructed to remain standing with his plastic ankle-foot orthosis for 10 s at three time points by leaning forward with his forearms on a desk. He received cathodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation to the supplementary motor area at 1 mA for 10 min. Involuntary movements during standing were measured using an accelerometer attached to his forehead. The low-frequency power of involuntary movements during cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation significantly decreased compared with that during sham stimulation. No adverse effects were observed. Involuntary movement reduction by cathodal stimulation to supplementary motor areas suggests that stimulations modulated the corticobasal ganglia motor circuit. Cathodal stimulation to supplementary motor areas may be effective for reducing involuntary movements and may be safely applied to children with movement disorders.

  3. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Left Primary Motor Cortex (mPFC-lPMC) Affects Subjective Beauty but Not Ugliness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Koyo; Kawabata, Hideaki

    2015-01-01

    Neuroaesthetics has been searching for the neural bases of the subjective experience of beauty. It has been demonstrated that neural activities in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the left primary motor cortex (lPMC) correlate with the subjective experience of beauty. Although beauty and ugliness seem to be semantically and conceptually opposite, it is still unknown whether these two evaluations represent extreme opposites in unitary or bivariate dimensions. In this study, we applied transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to examine whether non-invasive brain stimulation modulates two types of esthetic evaluation; evaluating beauty and ugliness. Participants rated the subjective beauty and ugliness of abstract paintings before and after the application of tDCS. Application of cathodal tDCS over the mPFC with anode electrode over the lPMC, which induced temporal inhibition of neural excitability of the mPFC, led to a decrease in beauty ratings but not ugliness ratings. There were no changes in ratings of both beauty and ugliness when applying anodal tDCS or sham stimulation over the mPFC. Results from our experiment indicate that the mPFC and the lPMC have a causal role in generating the subjective experience of beauty, with beauty and ugliness evaluations constituting two distinct dimensions. PMID:26696865

  4. TRACHEAL AND BRONCHIAL ABNORMALITIES IN PATIENTS WITH SIGNIFICANT OBSTRUCTIVE SYNDROME: ACCORDING TO BRONCHOSCOPIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. L. Shteiner

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The endobronchial pattern of significant bronchial obstructive syndrome of various etiologies was analyzed in 4,000 patients with this condition. At the same time, bronchial malformations were encountered as supplementary bronchi of the left and right basal pyramids, axillary left bronchi, supplementary and displaced tracheal bronchi, and a single case of distal transposition of the right proximal bronchus in 1.58% of cases. According to the bronchoscopic findings, supplementary bronchi and transpositions of the left bronchi are the most common anatomic bronchial abnormalities (1.08%.

  5. Transfer and interference of motor skills in people with intellectual disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohan, A; Singh, A P; Mandal, M K

    2001-08-01

    Atypical laterality (i.e. the lack of a clear pattern of lateralization) has been found to be a characteristic feature of individuals with intellectual disability (ID). The evidence for this has been based on 'handedness' studies which have contained little information about the ability of people with ID to carry out interhemispheric tasks reflecting bilateral transfer or interference. The present study examined this capacity in individuals with ID by utilizing bilateral transfer and interference paradigms. Right-handed subjects with ID (IQ = 55-76) and controls matched for age and sex were tested for bilateral transfer of motor skill in contralateral hands with a mirror-drawing task. The subjects were also tested for their ability to perform a finger-tapping task while processing verbal and non-verbal stimuli. The findings indicated that people with ID are significantly deficient relative to matched controls in bilateral transfer of motor skills from their non-preferred (left) hand to their preferred (right) one. The effect of interference during performance of the dual task was significantly greater in individuals with ID. Subjects with ID were found to perform better with their non-preferred than with their preferred hand. A within-group comparison revealed that right-handed performance was more affected by interference than left in these subjects.

  6. To What Extent Can Motor Imagery Replace Motor Execution While Learning a Fine Motor Skill?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sobierajewicz, Jagna; Szarkiewicz, Sylwia; Prekoracka-Krawczyk, Anna; Jaskowski, Wojciech; van der Lubbe, Robert Henricus Johannes

    2016-01-01

    Motor imagery is generally thought to share common mechanisms with motor execution. In the present study, we examined to what extent learning a fine motor skill by motor imagery may substitute physical practice. Learning effects were assessed by manipulating the proportion of motor execution and

  7. The Effect of Rain-Fed and Supplementary Irrigation on the Yield ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Choice-Academy

    Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol.1 No.2 June. 2008 ... an urgent attention for improving productivity ..... difference between rain fed and supplementary irrigation in all plots examined across time interval. 0. 5.

  8. [Transposition errors during learning to reproduce a sequence by the right- and the left-hand movements: simulation of positional and movement coding].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liakhovetskiĭ, V A; Bobrova, E V; Skopin, G N

    2012-01-01

    Transposition errors during the reproduction of a hand movement sequence make it possible to receive important information on the internal representation of this sequence in the motor working memory. Analysis of such errors showed that learning to reproduce sequences of the left-hand movements improves the system of positional coding (coding ofpositions), while learning of the right-hand movements improves the system of vector coding (coding of movements). Learning of the right-hand movements after the left-hand performance involved the system of positional coding "imposed" by the left hand. Learning of the left-hand movements after the right-hand performance activated the system of vector coding. Transposition errors during learning to reproduce movement sequences can be explained by neural network using either vector coding or both vector and positional coding.

  9. Neural correlates of cognitive dysfunction in Lewy body diseases and tauopathies: combined assessment with FDG-PET and the CERAD test battery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellwig, Sabine; Frings, Lars; Bormann, Tobias; Kreft, Annabelle; Amtage, Florian; Spehl, Timo S; Weiller, Cornelius; Tüscher, Oliver; Meyer, Philipp T

    2013-11-01

    We investigated disease-specific cognitive profiles and their neural correlates in Lewy-body diseases (LBD) and tauopathies by CERAD assessment and FDG-PET. Analyses revealed a significant interaction between reduced semantic fluency in tauopathies and impaired verbal learning in LBD. Semantic fluency discriminated between groups with high accuracy (83%). Compared to LBD, tauopathy patients showed bilateral hypometabolism of midbrain, thalamus, middle cingulate gyrus and supplementary motor/premotor cortex. In the reverse contrast, LBD patients exhibited bilateral hypometabolism in posterior parietal cortex, precuneus and inferior temporal gyrus extending into occipital and frontal cortices. In diagnosis-independent voxel-based analyses, verbal learning/memory correlated with left temporal and right parietal metabolism, while fluency was coupled to bilateral striatal and frontal metabolism. Naming correlated with left frontal metabolism and drawing with metabolism in bilateral temporal and left frontal regions. In line with disease-specific patterns of regional glucose metabolism, tauopathies and LBD show distinct cognitive profiles, which may assist clinical differentiation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Increased reward in ankle robotics training enhances motor control and cortical efficiency in stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Ronald N; Rietschel, Jeremy C; Roy, Anindo; Jung, Brian C; Diaz, Jason; Macko, Richard F; Forrester, Larry W

    2014-01-01

    Robotics is rapidly emerging as a viable approach to enhance motor recovery after disabling stroke. Current principles of cognitive motor learning recognize a positive relationship between reward and motor learning. Yet no prior studies have established explicitly whether reward improves the rate or efficacy of robotics-assisted rehabilitation or produces neurophysiologic adaptations associated with motor learning. We conducted a 3 wk, 9-session clinical pilot with 10 people with chronic hemiparetic stroke, randomly assigned to train with an impedance-controlled ankle robot (anklebot) under either high reward (HR) or low reward conditions. The 1 h training sessions entailed playing a seated video game by moving the paretic ankle to hit moving onscreen targets with the anklebot only providing assistance as needed. Assessments included paretic ankle motor control, learning curves, electroencephalograpy (EEG) coherence and spectral power during unassisted trials, and gait function. While both groups exhibited changes in EEG, the HR group had faster learning curves (p = 0.05), smoother movements (p left-temporal spectral power (p motor learning for restoring mobility.

  11. Quantifying and exploiting the age dependence in the effect of supplementary food for child undernutrition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milinda Lakkam

    Full Text Available Motivated by the lack of randomized controlled trials with an intervention-free control arm in the area of child undernutrition, we fit a trivariate model of weight-for-age z score (WAZ, height-for-age z score (HAZ and diarrhea status to data from an observational study of supplementary feeding (100 kCal/day for children with WAZ [Formula: see text] in 17 Guatemalan communities. Incorporating time lags, intention to treat (i.e., to give supplementary food, seasonality and age interactions, we estimate how the effect of supplementary food on WAZ, HAZ and diarrhea status varies with a child's age. We find that the effect of supplementary food on all 3 metrics decreases linearly with age from 6 to 20 mo and has little effect after 20 mo. We derive 2 food allocation policies that myopically (i.e., looking ahead 2 mo minimize either the underweight or stunting severity - i.e., the sum of squared WAZ or HAZ scores for all children with WAZ or HAZ [Formula: see text]. A simulation study based on the statistical model predicts that the 2 derived policies reduce the underweight severity (averaged over all ages by 13.6-14.1% and reduce the stunting severity at age 60 mo by 7.1-8.0% relative to the policy currently in use, where all policies have a budget that feeds [Formula: see text]% of children. While these findings need to be confirmed on additional data sets, it appears that in a low-dose (100 kCal/day supplementary feeding setting in Guatemala, allocating food primarily to 6-12 mo infants can reduce the severity of underweight and stunting.

  12. Abnormal lateralization of fine motor actions in Tourette syndrome persists into adulthood.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D Martino

    Full Text Available Youth with Tourette syndrome (TS exhibit, compared to healthy, abnormal ability to lateralize digital sequential tasks. It is unknown whether this trait is related to inter-hemispheric connections, and whether it is preserved or lost in patients with TS persisting through adult life. We studied 13 adult TS patients and 15 age-matched healthy volunteers. All participants undertook: 1 a finger opposition task, performed with the right hand (RH only or with both hands, using a sensor-engineered glove in synchrony with a metronome at 2 Hz; we calculated a lateralization index [(single RH-bimanual RH/single RH X 100 for percentage of correct movements (%CORR; 2 MRI-based diffusion tensor imaging and probabilistic tractography of inter-hemispheric corpus callosum (CC connections between supplementary motor areas (SMA and primary motor cortices (M1. We confirmed a significant increase in the %CORR in RH in the bimanual vs. single task in TS patients (p<0.001, coupled to an abnormal ability to lateralize finger movements (significantly lower lateralization index for %CORR in TS patients, p = 0.04. The %CORR lateralization index correlated positively with tic severity measured with the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (R = 0.55;p = 0.04. We detected a significantly higher fractional anisotropy (FA in both the M1-M1 (p = 0.036 and the SMA-SMA (p = 0.018 callosal fibre tracts in TS patients. In healthy subjects, the %CORR lateralization index correlated positively with fractional anisotropy of SMA-SMA fibre tracts (R = 0.63, p = 0.02; this correlation was not significant in TS patients. TS patients exhibited an abnormal ability to lateralize finger movements in sequential tasks, which increased in accuracy when the task was performed bimanually. This abnormality persists throughout different age periods and appears dissociated from the transcallosal connectivity of motor cortical regions. The altered interhemispheric transfer of motor abilities in TS may be

  13. Reaction of some rumen micro flora to different supplementary feeds ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ruminant animals lack enzymes to break down fibrous feeds but they harbor microorganisms capable of degrading their feeds. Rumen microbes are affected by feed substrates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate rumen microbial changes as the function of varying supplementary feeds. Two protein supplements ...

  14. Prediction of cognitive and motor development in preterm children using exhaustive feature selection and cross-validation of near-term white matter microstructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schadl, Kornél; Vassar, Rachel; Cahill-Rowley, Katelyn; Yeom, Kristin W; Stevenson, David K; Rose, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    Advanced neuroimaging and computational methods offer opportunities for more accurate prognosis. We hypothesized that near-term regional white matter (WM) microstructure, assessed on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), using exhaustive feature selection with cross-validation would predict neurodevelopment in preterm children. Near-term MRI and DTI obtained at 36.6 ± 1.8 weeks postmenstrual age in 66 very-low-birth-weight preterm neonates were assessed. 60/66 had follow-up neurodevelopmental evaluation with Bayley Scales of Infant-Toddler Development, 3rd-edition (BSID-III) at 18-22 months. Linear models with exhaustive feature selection and leave-one-out cross-validation computed based on DTI identified sets of three brain regions most predictive of cognitive and motor function; logistic regression models were computed to classify high-risk infants scoring one standard deviation below mean. Cognitive impairment was predicted (100% sensitivity, 100% specificity; AUC = 1) by near-term right middle-temporal gyrus MD, right cingulate-cingulum MD, left caudate MD. Motor impairment was predicted (90% sensitivity, 86% specificity; AUC = 0.912) by left precuneus FA, right superior occipital gyrus MD, right hippocampus FA. Cognitive score variance was explained (29.6%, cross-validated Rˆ2 = 0.296) by left posterior-limb-of-internal-capsule MD, Genu RD, right fusiform gyrus AD. Motor score variance was explained (31.7%, cross-validated Rˆ2 = 0.317) by left posterior-limb-of-internal-capsule MD, right parahippocampal gyrus AD, right middle-temporal gyrus AD. Search in large DTI feature space more accurately identified neonatal neuroimaging correlates of neurodevelopment.

  15. Effect of supplementary cementing materials on the concrete corrosion control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mejia de Gutierrez, R.

    2003-01-01

    Failure of concrete after a period of years, less than the life expected for which it was designed, may be caused by the environment to which it has been exposed or by a variety of internal causes. The incorporation of supplementary materials has at the Portland cement the purpose of improving the concrete microstructure and also of influence the resistance of concrete to environmental attacks. Different mineral by-products as ground granulated blast furnaces slag (GGBS), silica fume (SF), meta kaolin (MK), fly ash (FA) and other products have been used as supplementary cementing materials. This paper is about the behavior of concrete in the presence of mineral additions. Compared to Portland cements, blended cements show lower heat of hydration, lower permeability, greater resistance to sulphates and sea water. These blended cements find the best application when requirements of durability are regarded as a priority specially on high performance concrete: (Author) 11 refs

  16. Decline in measured glomerular filtration rate is associated with a decrease in endurance, strength, balance and fine motor skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellberg, Matthias; Höglund, Peter; Svensson, Philippa; Abdulahi, Huda; Clyne, Naomi

    2017-07-01

    Physical performance in chronic kidney disease affects morbidity and mortality. The aim was to find out which measures of physical performance are important in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and if there are associations with declining measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Endurance was assessed by 6 min walk test (6-MWT) and stair climbing, muscular endurance by 30 s sit to stand, heel rises and toe lifts, strength by quadriceps- and handgrip-strength, balance by functional reach and Berg's balance scale, and fine motor skills by Moberg's picking-up test. GFR was measured by Iohexol clearance. The study comprised 101 patients with CKD 3b-5 not started dialysis, 40 women and 61 men, with a mean age of 67 ± 13 (range: 22 - 87) years. All measures of physical performance were impaired. A decrease in GFR of 10 mL/min per 1.73 m 2 corresponded to a 35 metre shorter walking distance in the 6-MWT. Multivariable linear regression analysis showed significant relationships between decline in GFR and the 6-MWT (P = 0.04), isometric quadriceps strength left (P = 0.04), balance measured as functional reach (P = 0.02) and fine motor skills in the left hand as measured by Moberg's picking-up test (P = 0.01), respectively, after sex, age, comorbidity and the interaction between sex and age had been taken into account. Endurance, muscular endurance, strength, balance and fine motor skills were impaired in patients with CKD 3b-5. Walking capacity, isometric quadriceps strength, balance, and fine motor skills were associated with declining GFR. The left extremities were more susceptible to GFR, ageing and comorbidities and seem thus to be more sensitive. © 2016 Asian Pacific Society of Nephrology.

  17. Dissociation of verbal working memory system components using a delayed serial recall task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chein, J M; Fiez, J A

    2001-11-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the neural substrates of component processes in verbal working memory. Based on behavioral research using manipulations of verbal stimulus type to dissociate storage, rehearsal, and executive components of verbal working memory, we designed a delayed serial recall task requiring subjects to encode, maintain, and overtly recall sets of verbal items for which phonological similarity, articulatory length, and lexical status were manipulated. By using a task with temporally extended trials, we were able to exploit the temporal resolution afforded by fMRI to partially isolate neural contributions to encoding, maintenance, and retrieval stages of task performance. Several regions commonly associated with maintenance, including supplementary motor, premotor, and inferior frontal areas, were found to be active across all three trial stages. Additionally, we found that left inferior frontal and supplementary motor regions showed patterns of stimulus and temporal sensitivity implicating them in distinct aspects of articulatory rehearsal, while no regions showed a pattern of sensitivity consistent with a role in phonological storage. Regional modulation by task difficulty was further investigated as a measure of executive processing. We interpret our findings as they relate to notions about the cognitive architecture underlying verbal working memory performance.

  18. Cortical reorganization associated lower extremity motor recovery as evidenced by functional MRI and diffusion tensor tractography in a stroke patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Sung Ho; You, Sung H; Kwon, Yong-Hyun; Hallett, Mark; Lee, Mi Young; Ahn, Sang Ho

    2005-01-01

    Recovery mechanisms supporting upper extremity motor recovery following stroke are well established, but cortical mechanism associated with lower extremity motor recovery is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess cortical reorganization associated with lower extremity motor recovery in a hemiparetic patient. Six control subjects and a 17 year-old woman with left intracerebral hemorrhage due to an arterio-venous malformation rupture were evaluated. The motor function of the paretic (left) hip and knee had recovered slowly to the extent of her being able to overcome gravity for 10 months after the onset of stroke. However, her paretic upper extremity showed no significant motor recovery. Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI at 1.5 Tesla was used to determine the acutual location of cortical activation in the predefined regions of interest. Concurrently, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) in combination with a novel 3D-fiber reconstruction algorithm was utilized to investigate the pattern of the corticospinal pathway connectivity between the areas of the motor stream. All subjects' body parts were secured in the scanner and performed a sequential knee flexion-extension with a predetermined angle of 0-60 degrees at 0.5 Hz. Controls showed anticipated activation in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex (SM1) and the descending corticospinal fibers stemming from motor cortex. In contrast to control normal subjects, the stroke patient showed fMRI activation only in the unaffected (right) primary SM1 during either paretic or nonparetic knee movements. DTT fiber tracing data showed that the corticospinal tract fibers were found only in the unaffected hemisphere but not in the affected hemisphere. Our results indicate that an ipsilateral motor pathway from the unaffected (right) motor cortex to the paretic (right) leg was present in this patient. This study raises the potential that the contralesional (ipsilateral) SM1 is involved in cortical

  19. An elusive persistent left superior vena cava draining into left atrium

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A. Soward; F.J. ten Cate (Folkert); P.M. Fioretti (Paolo); P.W.J.C. Serruys (Patrick); J.R.T.C. Roelandt (Jos)

    1986-01-01

    textabstractA case report of a persistent left superior vena cava draining into left atrium with a fibromuscular left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and a small atrial septal defect. The anomalous vessel escaped detection during two right and left heart catheterizations from the right arm and

  20. Short-term immobilization influences use-dependent cortical plasticity and fine motor performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Opie, George M; Evans, Alexandra; Ridding, Michael C; Semmler, John G

    2016-08-25

    Short-term immobilization that reduces muscle use for 8-10h is known to influence cortical excitability and motor performance. However, the mechanisms through which this is achieved, and whether these changes can be used to modify cortical plasticity and motor skill learning, are not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of short-term immobilization on use-dependent cortical plasticity, motor learning and retention. Twenty-one adults were divided into control and immobilized groups, both of which underwent two experimental sessions on consecutive days. Within each session, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes, short- (SICI) and long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI), and intracortical facilitation (ICF) before and after a grooved pegboard task. Prior to the second training session, the immobilized group underwent 8h of left hand immobilization targeting the index finger, while control subjects were allowed normal limb use. Immobilization produced a reduction in MEP amplitudes, but no change in SICI, LICI or ICF. While motor performance improved for both groups in each session, the level of performance was greater 24-h later in control, but not immobilized subjects. Furthermore, training-related MEP facilitation was greater after, compared with before, immobilization. These results indicate that immobilization can modulate use-dependent plasticity and the retention of motor skills. They also suggest that changes in intracortical excitability are unlikely to contribute to the immobilization-induced modification of cortical excitability. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.