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Representation of the hand in the cerebral cortex
David T Blake1, Nancy N Byl, Michael M Merzenich
1Coleman Laboratory and Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0732, USA. dblake@phy.ucsf.edu
Behavioural Brain Research
|October 3, 2002
Summary
Cortical plasticity shapes hand representations in the brain. Understanding this process, particularly the role of acetylcholine, is key to treating motor control disorders like focal dystonia.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Cortical Plasticity
Background:
- Hand movements and sensory inputs are mapped in the primary motor cortex and anterior parietal cortex.
- Brain representations are shaped by peripheral innervation and columnar architecture, which can be modified by behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the relationship between hand use, cortical plasticity, and motor control disorders.
- To explain how principles of cortical plasticity can inform the treatment of focal dystonia.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on hand representation and cortical plasticity.
- Analysis of the role of cholinergic systems in learning and cortical adaptation.
- Examination of focal dystonia as a disorder of cortical plasticity.
Main Results:
- Cortical plasticity allows representational areas and columnar structure to be shaped by experience.
- Cholinergic inputs are crucial for marking reinforcing events, enabling plasticity in sensory cortex.
- Focal dystonia involves abnormal receptive field sizes and columnar architecture, linked to overuse and sensory feedback issues.
Conclusions:
- Principles of cortical plasticity offer a framework for understanding and treating focal dystonia.
- Behavioral and sensory manipulations can alter cortical representations, impacting motor control.
- Targeting plasticity mechanisms may provide therapeutic avenues for hand motor control deficits.