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Motor cortex hand area and speech: implications for the development of language
Ingo Gerrit Meister1, Babak Boroojerdi, Henrik Foltys
1Department of Neurology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30, Aachen 52074, Germany.
Neuropsychologia
|February 1, 2003
Summary
Researchers found increased excitability in the dominant hemisphere's hand motor area during reading aloud. This suggests a functional connection between hand movement control and language processing networks in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Growing evidence suggests a link between the hand motor cortex and language processing regions.
- The precise nature of this functional connection remains an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the excitability of the hand and leg motor areas during language tasks.
- To determine if motor cortex excitability differs between reading aloud and non-verbal oral movements.
Main Methods:
- Utilized transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to measure motor cortex excitability.
- Compared excitability changes in the hand and leg motor areas during reading aloud versus non-verbal oral movements.
- Examined effects in both the dominant and contralateral hemispheres.
Main Results:
- Hand motor area excitability significantly increased during reading aloud in the dominant hemisphere.
- This effect was specific to reading aloud and not observed during non-verbal oral movements or at other times.
- No significant changes were observed in the leg motor area or in the contralateral hemisphere's hand motor area.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a specific functional connection between the hand motor area and the brain's language network.
- The results indicate that language processing, specifically reading aloud, modulates motor cortex activity in a hemisphere- and effector-specific manner.