The neural network involved in a bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination task: a functional imaging study at
Christophe Habas1, Emmanuel Alain Cabanis
1Service de NeuroImagerie, Hôpital des Quinze-Vingts, UPMC Paris 6, 28, rue de Charenton, 75012 Paris, France. chabas@quinze-vingts.fr
Introduction:
The cerebral and cerebellar network involved in a bimanual object recognition was studied in blood oxygenation dependent level functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Methods:
Nine healthy right-handed volunteers were scanned (1) while performing bilateral finger movements (nondiscrimination motor task), and (2) while performing a bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination task using small chess pieces (tactile discrimination task).
Results:
Extensive activations were specifically observed in the parietal (SII, superior lateral lobule), insular, prefrontal, cingulate and neocerebellar cortices (HVIII), with a left predominance in motor areas, during the tactile discrimination task in contrast to the findings during the nondiscrimination motor task.
Conclusion:
Bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination recruits multiple sensorimotor and associative cerebral and neocerebellar networks (including the cerebellar second homunculus, HVIII), comparable to the neural circuits involved in unimanual tactile object recognition.
