BACKGROUND： Functional MRI （fMRI） demonstrates the localization of hand representation in the motor cortex, thereby providing feasible noninvasive mapping of functional activities in the human brain. OBJECTIVE： To...BACKGROUND： Functional MRI （fMRI） demonstrates the localization of hand representation in the motor cortex, thereby providing feasible noninvasive mapping of functional activities in the human brain. OBJECTIVE： To observe cortical activation within different cortical motor regions during repetitive hand movements in healthy subjects through the use of fMRI. DESIGN： An observational study, with each subject acting as his own control. SETTING： Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. PARTICIPANTS： Seven healthy volunteers, 4 males and 3 females, aged 19 to 38 years, participated in the study. All subjects were right-handed, with no neurological or psychological disorders. Informed written consent was obtained from all subjects, and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. METHODS： The study was performed at the Department of Radiology between June-August 2005. A 1.5 Tesla Siemens MRI scanner （Symphony, Germany） was used to acquire T1-weighted structural images, which were oriented parallel to the line running through the anterior and the posterior commissures. Subjects were instructed on a task and were allowed to practice briefly prior to the imaging procedure. The motor activation task consisted of the right hand performing a clenching movement. The T1-W images were acquired from six alternating epochs of rest and activation from all seven healthy subjects. Data were collected with echoplanar imaging of brain oxygen level dependent （BOLD） sequence. Each series comprised six cycles of task performance （30 seconds）, alternating with rest （30 seconds） periods, and 3-second time intervals. The differences between active and baseline fMRI imaging were calculated using the student t-test. Differential maps were overlaid on the high resolution TI-W structural image for neuroanatomical correlation of activation areas. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The omega-shaped hand knobs were recognized on T1-W structural images. Active signal changes in the primary （M1） and secondary motor （M2） areas, as well as the relationship between the hand knobs and M1 area activation, were analyzed. Region of interest was selected for signal change quantitative graphic analysis. RESULTS： All 7 enrolled volunteers were included in the final analysis. In the present study, hand knob structures were recognized on T1-weighted images in all subjects and were omega-shaped in the axial plane. Significant functional activations were observed in the contralateral primary motor area of all subjects. Activation signals were distributed mainly in the central sulcus around the hand knob. The contralateral primary sensory （S1） cortex was activated in most cases, and ipsilateral M1 was activated in 3 subjects. Contralateral or bilateral supplementary motor area （SMA） was also activated in 6 cases. Premotor area, or super parietal lobe, was activated in two subjects. Three-dimensional reconstruction demonstrated that the active signal of M1 was primarily located at the middle-lateral surface of the contralateral precentral gyrus in Brodman＇s area 4, and the signal of SMA activation was located in the mesial surface of the premotor area. CONCLUSION： The knob structure of the precentral gyrus is the representative motor area for hand movement. The cerebral cortical motor network was extensively activated during voluntary hand movements in normal subjects. In alert, conscious human subjects, the activated fMRI signal safely and non-invasively localized and lateralized the motor cortical activity associated with simple voluntary repetitive hand movements. Whether higher cognitive functions, such as perception and speech, can be similarly mapped using the fMRI technique and the BOLD method remains to be determined in future well-designed human studies.展开更多
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 w...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 aprax- ia. In addition, these results also suggest that transcranial magnetic stimulation is helpful for diagnosing apraxia.展开更多
Functional MRI （fMRI） is widely used as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of pre-operation motor function.However,patients with cortical function impairment,such as those with hemiparesis,can rarely achieve h...Functional MRI （fMRI） is widely used as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of pre-operation motor function.However,patients with cortical function impairment,such as those with hemiparesis,can rarely achieve hand clenching,a typical fMRI task for central sulcus identification,and the method is also of limited use in uncooperative children.Thus,it is important to develop a new method for identifying primary motor areas （PMA） in such individuals.This study used corticospinal tractography to identify the PMA in 20 patients with deep-seated brain tumor.Two regions of interest were set within the brainstem for corticospinal tract （CST） fiber tracking：one at the level of the pons and the other at the level of the cerebral peduncle.The CST fiber tracking results and fMRI activation signals were merged with three-dimensional anatomic MRI findings.The consistency of identifying the PMA by CST and fMRI was analyzed.fMRI activation signals were distributed mainly in the contralateral central sulcus around the omega-shaped hand knob.The CST consistently propagated from the pons and cerebral peduncle to the suspected PMA location.There was a good correlation between CST fiber tracking results and fMRI activation signals in terms of their abilities to identify the PMA.The differences between fMRI and CST fiber tracking findings may result from our functional task,which consisted only of hand movements.Our results indicate that diffusion tensor imaging is a useful brain mapping technique for identifying the PMA in paralyzed patients and uncooperative children.展开更多
Although some patients have successful peripheral nerve regeneration,a poor recovery of hand function often occurs after peripheral nerve injury.It is believed that the capability of brain plasticity is crucial for th...Although some patients have successful peripheral nerve regeneration,a poor recovery of hand function often occurs after peripheral nerve injury.It is believed that the capability of brain plasticity is crucial for the recovery of hand function.The supplementary motor area may play a key role in brain remodeling after peripheral nerve injury.In this study,we explored the activation mode of the supplementary motor area during a motor imagery task.We investigated the plasticity of the central nervous system after brachial plexus injury,using the motor imagery task.Results from functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that after brachial plexus injury,the motor imagery task for the affected limbs of the patients triggered no obvious activation of bilateral supplementary motor areas.This result indicates that it is difficult to excite the supplementary motor areas of brachial plexus injury patients during a motor imagery task,thereby impacting brain remodeling.Deactivation of the supplementary motor area is likely to be a serious problem for brachial plexus injury patients in terms of preparing,initiating and executing certain movements,which may be partly responsible for the unsatisfactory clinical recovery of hand function.展开更多
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess the activity of supplementary motor area (SMA) in six right-handed and six left-handed healthy volunteers. Two manual tasks (self-initiated previously pr...Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess the activity of supplementary motor area (SMA) in six right-handed and six left-handed healthy volunteers. Two manual tasks (self-initiated previously practiced and unpredictable visually guided) were used. Quantitative analysis of hemispheric and bilateral SMA activation was described as mean ± standard deviation of hot spots/total spots. The two tasks induced bilateral SMA activation. The laterality of SMA activation was affected by manual dominance. Left SMA was significantly more activated in right- and left-handers while performing the motor tasks with the right hand. Right SMA was more activated in the left-handers when the left hand was used. Task complexity was the most important factor influencing the degree of SMA activation.展开更多
Background:Patients who have a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (cAVMs) in the motor cortex can have displaced function. The finding and its relationship to recovery from surgery is not known. Methods:We present t...Background:Patients who have a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (cAVMs) in the motor cortex can have displaced function. The finding and its relationship to recovery from surgery is not known. Methods:We present the five cases with cAVMs involving precentral knob and/or paracentral lobule and without preoperative motor deficits. We used motor activation areas derived from Functional functional MRI (fMRI) as a region of interesting (ROI) to launch the plasticity of cerebrospinal tracts (CST). All the results were incorporated into the neuronavigation platform for surgical treatment. Intraoperative electric cortical stimulation (ECS) was used to map motor areas. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of hands and feets were performed on postoperative day 2, 7 and at month 3, 6 during follow-up period. All the patients suffered from motor deficits regardless of cortical activation patterns. Results:Three patients showed functionally seeded CST in or around the AVM, and were validated by intraoperative electrical stimulation (ECS). Patient 4 had two aberrant functionally seeded fiber tracts away from the lesion, but were proved to be non-functional by postoperative motor deficits. Patient 3 with motor cortex and fiber tract within a diffuse AVMs nidus, complete paralysis of upper extremity after operation and has a persistent motor deficit during 6-month follow-up period. Conclusions:The plasticity of motor cortex on fMRI doesn’t prevent post-operative motor deficits. Functionally mapped fiber tract within or abutting AVM nidus predicts transient and persistent motor deficit.展开更多
Whether the secondary motor areas are involved in simple voluntary movements remains controversial. Differences in the neural substrates of movements with the dominant and the non-dominant hands have not been well doc...Whether the secondary motor areas are involved in simple voluntary movements remains controversial. Differences in the neural substrates of movements with the dominant and the non-dominant hands have not been well documented. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the hemodynamic response in the primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA) and premotor cortex (PMC) in six healthy right-handed subjects while performing a visually-guided finger-tapping task with their dominant or non-dominant hands. Significant activation was observed in M1, SMA and PMC during this externally triggered simple voluntary movement task. While dominant hand movements only activated contralateral motor areas, non-domi- nant hand movements also activated ipsilateral SMA and PMC. The results provide strong evidence for the involvement of the secondary motor areas in simple voluntary movements, and also suggest that movements of the dominant hand primarily engage the contralateral secondary motor areas, whereas movements of the non-dominant hand engage bilateral secondary motor areas.展开更多
The present study reported a 42-year-old male patient who underwent conservative management for a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in the left corona radiata and the basal ganglia. The patient presented with compl...The present study reported a 42-year-old male patient who underwent conservative management for a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in the left corona radiata and the basal ganglia. The patient presented with complete weakness of the right upper and lower extremities at the onset of intracerebral hemorrhage; however, he showed progressive motor recovery to the level that he was able to extent the affected extremities against some resistance at 5 weeks after onset. The corticospinal tract of the affected （left） hemisphere connected to the left Broca＇s area at 3 weeks after onset as shown by diffusion tensor tractography. By contrast, this connection had disappeared at 5 weeks after onset as shown by diffusion tensor tractogaphy. Transcranial magnetic stimulation study showed that no motor evoked potential was elicited from the affected （left） hemisphere at 3 weeks after onset, but motor evoked potentials were elicited at 5 weeks after onset. These findings suggest that the connection between the injured corticospinal tract and Broca＇s area in this patient appears to be a compensation for severe motor weakness; consequently, the connection seems to disappear with motor recovery.展开更多
Perceiving pitch is a central function of the human auditory system;congenital amusia is a disorder of pitch perception.The underlying neural mechanisms of congenital amusia have been actively discussed.However,little...Perceiving pitch is a central function of the human auditory system;congenital amusia is a disorder of pitch perception.The underlying neural mechanisms of congenital amusia have been actively discussed.However,little attention has been paid to the changes in the motor rain within congenital amusia.In this case-control study,17 participants with congenital amusia and 14 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while resting with their eyes closed.A voxel-based degree centrality method was used to identify abnormal functional network centrality by comparing degree centrality values between the congenital amusia group and the healthy control group.We found decreased degree centrality values in the right primary sensorimotor areas in participants with congenital amusia relative to controls,indicating potentially decreased centrality of the corresponding brain regions in the auditory-sensory motor feedback network.We found a significant positive correlation between the degree centrality values and the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia scores.In conclusion,our study identified novel,hitherto undiscussed candidate brain regions that may partly contribute to or be modulated by congenital amusia.Our evidence supports the view that sensorimotor coupling plays an important role in memory and musical discrimination.The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,China(No.WDX20180101GZ01)on February 9,2019.展开更多
Brain activation during motor imagery （MI） has been studied extensively for years. Based on studies of brain activations of MI, in present study, a complex finger tapping imagery and execution experi- ment is design...Brain activation during motor imagery （MI） has been studied extensively for years. Based on studies of brain activations of MI, in present study, a complex finger tapping imagery and execution experi- ment is designed to test the brain activation during MI. The experiment results show that during MI, brain activation exists mainly in the supplementary motor area （SMA） and precentral area where the dorsal premotor area （PMd） and the primary motor area （M1） mainly located; and some activation can be also observed in the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex （S1）, the inferior parietal lobule （IPL） and the superior parietal lobule （SPL）. Additionally, more brain activation can be observed during left-hand MI than during right-hand MI, this difference probably is caused by asymmetry of brain.展开更多
Transcranial direct current stimulation （tDCS）, an emerging technique for non-invasive brain stimulation, is increasingly used to induce changes in cortical excitability and modulate motor behavior, especially for u...Transcranial direct current stimulation （tDCS）, an emerging technique for non-invasive brain stimulation, is increasingly used to induce changes in cortical excitability and modulate motor behavior, especially for upper limbs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tDCS of the primary motor cortex on visuomotor coordination based on three levels of task difficulty in healthy subjects. Thirty-eight healthy participants underwent real tDCS or sham tDCS. Using a single-blind, sham-controlled crossover design, tDCS was applied to the primary motor cortex. For real tDCS conditions, tDCS intensity was 1 mA while stimulation was applied for 15 minutes. For the sham tDCS, electrodes were placed in the same position, but the stimu- lator was turned off after 5 seconds. Visuomotor tracking task, consisting of three levels （levels 1, 2, 3） of difficulty with higher level indicating greater difficulty, was performed before and after tDCS application. At level 2, real tDCS of the primary motor cortex improved the accurate index compared to the sham tDCS. However, at levels 1 and 3, the accurate index was not significantly increased after real tDCS compared to the sham tDCS. These findings suggest that tasks of mod- erate difficulty may improve visuomotor coordination in healthy subjects when tDCS is applied compared with easier or more difficult tasks.展开更多
A previous study by our group found that inhibition of nischarin promotes neurite outgrowth and neuronal regeneration in Neuro-2 a cells and primary cortical neurons.In recent years,more and more studies have shown th...A previous study by our group found that inhibition of nischarin promotes neurite outgrowth and neuronal regeneration in Neuro-2 a cells and primary cortical neurons.In recent years,more and more studies have shown that nanomaterials have good prospects in treatment of spinal cord injury.We proposed that small interfering RNA targeting nischarin（Nis-si RNA） delivered by polyethyleneimine-alginate（PEIALG） nanoparticles promoted motor function recovery in rats with spinal cord injury.Direct microinjection of 5 μL PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA into the spinal cord lesion area of spinal cord injury rats was performed.From day 7 after surgery,Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan score was significantly higher in rats from the PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA group compared with the spinal cord injury group and PEI-ALG/Control-si RNA group.On day 21 after injection,hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that the necrotic area was reduced in the PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA group.Immunohistochemistry and western blot assay results confirmed successful inhibition of nischarin expression and increased protein expression of growth-associated protein-43 in the PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA group.These findings suggest that a complex of PEI-ALG nanoparticles and Nis-si RNA effectively suppresses nischarin expression,induces expression of growth-associated protein-43,and accelerates motor function recovery after spinal cord injury.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND： Functional MRI （fMRI） demonstrates the localization of hand representation in the motor cortex, thereby providing feasible noninvasive mapping of functional activities in the human brain. OBJECTIVE： To observe cortical activation within different cortical motor regions during repetitive hand movements in healthy subjects through the use of fMRI. DESIGN： An observational study, with each subject acting as his own control. SETTING： Department of Radiology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. PARTICIPANTS： Seven healthy volunteers, 4 males and 3 females, aged 19 to 38 years, participated in the study. All subjects were right-handed, with no neurological or psychological disorders. Informed written consent was obtained from all subjects, and the study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University. METHODS： The study was performed at the Department of Radiology between June-August 2005. A 1.5 Tesla Siemens MRI scanner （Symphony, Germany） was used to acquire T1-weighted structural images, which were oriented parallel to the line running through the anterior and the posterior commissures. Subjects were instructed on a task and were allowed to practice briefly prior to the imaging procedure. The motor activation task consisted of the right hand performing a clenching movement. The T1-W images were acquired from six alternating epochs of rest and activation from all seven healthy subjects. Data were collected with echoplanar imaging of brain oxygen level dependent （BOLD） sequence. Each series comprised six cycles of task performance （30 seconds）, alternating with rest （30 seconds） periods, and 3-second time intervals. The differences between active and baseline fMRI imaging were calculated using the student t-test. Differential maps were overlaid on the high resolution TI-W structural image for neuroanatomical correlation of activation areas. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： The omega-shaped hand knobs were recognized on T1-W structural images. Active signal changes in the primary （M1） and secondary motor （M2） areas, as well as the relationship between the hand knobs and M1 area activation, were analyzed. Region of interest was selected for signal change quantitative graphic analysis. RESULTS： All 7 enrolled volunteers were included in the final analysis. In the present study, hand knob structures were recognized on T1-weighted images in all subjects and were omega-shaped in the axial plane. Significant functional activations were observed in the contralateral primary motor area of all subjects. Activation signals were distributed mainly in the central sulcus around the hand knob. The contralateral primary sensory （S1） cortex was activated in most cases, and ipsilateral M1 was activated in 3 subjects. Contralateral or bilateral supplementary motor area （SMA） was also activated in 6 cases. Premotor area, or super parietal lobe, was activated in two subjects. Three-dimensional reconstruction demonstrated that the active signal of M1 was primarily located at the middle-lateral surface of the contralateral precentral gyrus in Brodman＇s area 4, and the signal of SMA activation was located in the mesial surface of the premotor area. CONCLUSION： The knob structure of the precentral gyrus is the representative motor area for hand movement. The cerebral cortical motor network was extensively activated during voluntary hand movements in normal subjects. In alert, conscious human subjects, the activated fMRI signal safely and non-invasively localized and lateralized the motor cortical activity associated with simple voluntary repetitive hand movements. Whether higher cognitive functions, such as perception and speech, can be similarly mapped using the fMRI technique and the BOLD method remains to be determined in future well-designed human studies.
文摘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 aprax- ia. In addition, these results also suggest that transcranial magnetic stimulation is helpful for diagnosing apraxia.
基金the Science and Research Project of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Science and Technology,No.07-1012a grant from the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education,No.GJJ08116
文摘Functional MRI （fMRI） is widely used as a non-invasive method for the evaluation of pre-operation motor function.However,patients with cortical function impairment,such as those with hemiparesis,can rarely achieve hand clenching,a typical fMRI task for central sulcus identification,and the method is also of limited use in uncooperative children.Thus,it is important to develop a new method for identifying primary motor areas （PMA） in such individuals.This study used corticospinal tractography to identify the PMA in 20 patients with deep-seated brain tumor.Two regions of interest were set within the brainstem for corticospinal tract （CST） fiber tracking：one at the level of the pons and the other at the level of the cerebral peduncle.The CST fiber tracking results and fMRI activation signals were merged with three-dimensional anatomic MRI findings.The consistency of identifying the PMA by CST and fMRI was analyzed.fMRI activation signals were distributed mainly in the contralateral central sulcus around the omega-shaped hand knob.The CST consistently propagated from the pons and cerebral peduncle to the suspected PMA location.There was a good correlation between CST fiber tracking results and fMRI activation signals in terms of their abilities to identify the PMA.The differences between fMRI and CST fiber tracking findings may result from our functional task,which consisted only of hand movements.Our results indicate that diffusion tensor imaging is a useful brain mapping technique for identifying the PMA in paralyzed patients and uncooperative children.
基金supported by the Youth Researcher Foundation of Shanghai Health Development Planning Commission,No.20124319
文摘Although some patients have successful peripheral nerve regeneration,a poor recovery of hand function often occurs after peripheral nerve injury.It is believed that the capability of brain plasticity is crucial for the recovery of hand function.The supplementary motor area may play a key role in brain remodeling after peripheral nerve injury.In this study,we explored the activation mode of the supplementary motor area during a motor imagery task.We investigated the plasticity of the central nervous system after brachial plexus injury,using the motor imagery task.Results from functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that after brachial plexus injury,the motor imagery task for the affected limbs of the patients triggered no obvious activation of bilateral supplementary motor areas.This result indicates that it is difficult to excite the supplementary motor areas of brachial plexus injury patients during a motor imagery task,thereby impacting brain remodeling.Deactivation of the supplementary motor area is likely to be a serious problem for brachial plexus injury patients in terms of preparing,initiating and executing certain movements,which may be partly responsible for the unsatisfactory clinical recovery of hand function.
文摘Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess the activity of supplementary motor area (SMA) in six right-handed and six left-handed healthy volunteers. Two manual tasks (self-initiated previously practiced and unpredictable visually guided) were used. Quantitative analysis of hemispheric and bilateral SMA activation was described as mean ± standard deviation of hot spots/total spots. The two tasks induced bilateral SMA activation. The laterality of SMA activation was affected by manual dominance. Left SMA was significantly more activated in right- and left-handers while performing the motor tasks with the right hand. Right SMA was more activated in the left-handers when the left hand was used. Task complexity was the most important factor influencing the degree of SMA activation.
文摘Background:Patients who have a cerebral arteriovenous malformation (cAVMs) in the motor cortex can have displaced function. The finding and its relationship to recovery from surgery is not known. Methods:We present the five cases with cAVMs involving precentral knob and/or paracentral lobule and without preoperative motor deficits. We used motor activation areas derived from Functional functional MRI (fMRI) as a region of interesting (ROI) to launch the plasticity of cerebrospinal tracts (CST). All the results were incorporated into the neuronavigation platform for surgical treatment. Intraoperative electric cortical stimulation (ECS) was used to map motor areas. Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of hands and feets were performed on postoperative day 2, 7 and at month 3, 6 during follow-up period. All the patients suffered from motor deficits regardless of cortical activation patterns. Results:Three patients showed functionally seeded CST in or around the AVM, and were validated by intraoperative electrical stimulation (ECS). Patient 4 had two aberrant functionally seeded fiber tracts away from the lesion, but were proved to be non-functional by postoperative motor deficits. Patient 3 with motor cortex and fiber tract within a diffuse AVMs nidus, complete paralysis of upper extremity after operation and has a persistent motor deficit during 6-month follow-up period. Conclusions:The plasticity of motor cortex on fMRI doesn’t prevent post-operative motor deficits. Functionally mapped fiber tract within or abutting AVM nidus predicts transient and persistent motor deficit.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.30128005,30170325 and 30070250)the State Key Basic Research and Development Progrom(Grant No.G1999054000)the Technology Fund from the Ministry of Education of China (Grant No.20010284021)
文摘Whether the secondary motor areas are involved in simple voluntary movements remains controversial. Differences in the neural substrates of movements with the dominant and the non-dominant hands have not been well documented. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the hemodynamic response in the primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area (SMA) and premotor cortex (PMC) in six healthy right-handed subjects while performing a visually-guided finger-tapping task with their dominant or non-dominant hands. Significant activation was observed in M1, SMA and PMC during this externally triggered simple voluntary movement task. While dominant hand movements only activated contralateral motor areas, non-domi- nant hand movements also activated ipsilateral SMA and PMC. The results provide strong evidence for the involvement of the secondary motor areas in simple voluntary movements, and also suggest that movements of the dominant hand primarily engage the contralateral secondary motor areas, whereas movements of the non-dominant hand engage bilateral secondary motor areas.
基金a grant from Daegu Metropolitan City R&D Project
文摘The present study reported a 42-year-old male patient who underwent conservative management for a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in the left corona radiata and the basal ganglia. The patient presented with complete weakness of the right upper and lower extremities at the onset of intracerebral hemorrhage; however, he showed progressive motor recovery to the level that he was able to extent the affected extremities against some resistance at 5 weeks after onset. The corticospinal tract of the affected （left） hemisphere connected to the left Broca＇s area at 3 weeks after onset as shown by diffusion tensor tractography. By contrast, this connection had disappeared at 5 weeks after onset as shown by diffusion tensor tractogaphy. Transcranial magnetic stimulation study showed that no motor evoked potential was elicited from the affected （left） hemisphere at 3 weeks after onset, but motor evoked potentials were elicited at 5 weeks after onset. These findings suggest that the connection between the injured corticospinal tract and Broca＇s area in this patient appears to be a compensation for severe motor weakness; consequently, the connection seems to disappear with motor recovery.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81771172(to DXW),81671671(to JL)the Second Xiangya Hospital Start-Up Fund,China。
文摘Perceiving pitch is a central function of the human auditory system;congenital amusia is a disorder of pitch perception.The underlying neural mechanisms of congenital amusia have been actively discussed.However,little attention has been paid to the changes in the motor rain within congenital amusia.In this case-control study,17 participants with congenital amusia and 14 healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while resting with their eyes closed.A voxel-based degree centrality method was used to identify abnormal functional network centrality by comparing degree centrality values between the congenital amusia group and the healthy control group.We found decreased degree centrality values in the right primary sensorimotor areas in participants with congenital amusia relative to controls,indicating potentially decreased centrality of the corresponding brain regions in the auditory-sensory motor feedback network.We found a significant positive correlation between the degree centrality values and the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia scores.In conclusion,our study identified novel,hitherto undiscussed candidate brain regions that may partly contribute to or be modulated by congenital amusia.Our evidence supports the view that sensorimotor coupling plays an important role in memory and musical discrimination.The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,China(No.WDX20180101GZ01)on February 9,2019.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 90820006 and 30770590Key Research Project of Science and Technology of MOE under Grant No. 107097National 863 Program under Grant No. 2008AA02Z408.
文摘Brain activation during motor imagery （MI） has been studied extensively for years. Based on studies of brain activations of MI, in present study, a complex finger tapping imagery and execution experi- ment is designed to test the brain activation during MI. The experiment results show that during MI, brain activation exists mainly in the supplementary motor area （SMA） and precentral area where the dorsal premotor area （PMd） and the primary motor area （M1） mainly located; and some activation can be also observed in the primary and secondary somatosensory cortex （S1）, the inferior parietal lobule （IPL） and the superior parietal lobule （SPL）. Additionally, more brain activation can be observed during left-hand MI than during right-hand MI, this difference probably is caused by asymmetry of brain.
基金supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF)funded by the Ministry of Science,ICT&Future Planning,No.2012R1A1B4003477
文摘Transcranial direct current stimulation （tDCS）, an emerging technique for non-invasive brain stimulation, is increasingly used to induce changes in cortical excitability and modulate motor behavior, especially for upper limbs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tDCS of the primary motor cortex on visuomotor coordination based on three levels of task difficulty in healthy subjects. Thirty-eight healthy participants underwent real tDCS or sham tDCS. Using a single-blind, sham-controlled crossover design, tDCS was applied to the primary motor cortex. For real tDCS conditions, tDCS intensity was 1 mA while stimulation was applied for 15 minutes. For the sham tDCS, electrodes were placed in the same position, but the stimu- lator was turned off after 5 seconds. Visuomotor tracking task, consisting of three levels （levels 1, 2, 3） of difficulty with higher level indicating greater difficulty, was performed before and after tDCS application. At level 2, real tDCS of the primary motor cortex improved the accurate index compared to the sham tDCS. However, at levels 1 and 3, the accurate index was not significantly increased after real tDCS compared to the sham tDCS. These findings suggest that tasks of mod- erate difficulty may improve visuomotor coordination in healthy subjects when tDCS is applied compared with easier or more difficult tasks.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province of China,No.LY15H250001 and LY14H090002the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81000535 and 81402872+1 种基金the Medical Science and Technology Project Foundation of Zhejiang Province of China,No.2014KYA166the Science and Technology Innovation Talents Development Plan Foundation for High School Students in Zhejiang Province of China,No.2014R401186
文摘A previous study by our group found that inhibition of nischarin promotes neurite outgrowth and neuronal regeneration in Neuro-2 a cells and primary cortical neurons.In recent years,more and more studies have shown that nanomaterials have good prospects in treatment of spinal cord injury.We proposed that small interfering RNA targeting nischarin（Nis-si RNA） delivered by polyethyleneimine-alginate（PEIALG） nanoparticles promoted motor function recovery in rats with spinal cord injury.Direct microinjection of 5 μL PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA into the spinal cord lesion area of spinal cord injury rats was performed.From day 7 after surgery,Basso,Beattie and Bresnahan score was significantly higher in rats from the PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA group compared with the spinal cord injury group and PEI-ALG/Control-si RNA group.On day 21 after injection,hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that the necrotic area was reduced in the PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA group.Immunohistochemistry and western blot assay results confirmed successful inhibition of nischarin expression and increased protein expression of growth-associated protein-43 in the PEI-ALG/Nis-si RNA group.These findings suggest that a complex of PEI-ALG nanoparticles and Nis-si RNA effectively suppresses nischarin expression,induces expression of growth-associated protein-43,and accelerates motor function recovery after spinal cord injury.
