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Related Concept Videos

Direct Motor Pathways01:11

Direct Motor Pathways

The direct motor pathways, also known as the pyramidal tracts, are a group of neural pathways that originate in the brain and descend through the spinal cord. They control the voluntary movement of the body. There are two major direct motor pathways: the corticospinal and the corticobulbar tracts.
The corticospinal tract is responsible for the voluntary movement of the limbs and trunk. It originates in the cerebral cortex of the brain and descends through the cerebrum's internal capsule and the...
Hierarchy of Motor Control01:18

Hierarchy of Motor Control

The hierarchy of motor control refers to the different levels of organization and processing involved in controlling movement in the body. These levels range from higher cortical areas involved in planning and decision-making to lower spinal cord reflexes that respond automatically to external stimuli.
Muscles of the Forearm that Move the Hand and Fingers01:16

Muscles of the Forearm that Move the Hand and Fingers

The muscles of the forearm that move the wrist, hand, and digits are numerous and diverse. They can be classified into two groups based on their location and function — the anterior and posterior compartment muscles.
Anterior Compartment
The anterior compartment muscles originate from the humerus. They primarily function as flexors and are also known as flexor muscles. They typically insert on the carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges. The superficial layer includes the flexor carpi radialis,...
Muscle Coordination and Action01:24

Muscle Coordination and Action

Muscle coordination is a complex and finely tuned process essential for smooth and purposeful movements like flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, and rotation. The human body orchestrates the actions of various muscles working in concert, each with a specific role. Four functional types describe how muscles work together: agonist, antagonist, synergist, and fixator.
Agonists
Agonist muscles, often called prime movers, are the primary muscles responsible for producing a specific movement.
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Lateralization01:28

Lateralization

Brain lateralization refers to the division of mental processes and functions between the two hemispheres of the brain, a phenomenon that optimizes neural efficiency and underpins complex abilities in humans. This specialization allows each hemisphere to perform tasks where it has a comparative advantage, facilitating more refined cognitive capabilities across different domains.

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Related Experiment Video

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Development of a Novel Task-oriented Rehabilitation Program using a Bimanual Exoskeleton Robotic Hand
06:44

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Published on: May 20, 2020

Manual activity shapes structure and function in contralateral human motor hand area.

Oliver Granert1, Martin Peller, Christian Gaser

  • 1Department of Neurology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany. o.granert@neurologie.uni-kiel.de

Neuroimage
|August 17, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Manual activity levels dynamically shape brain structure. Immobilizing the hand decreased grey matter and excitability in the motor cortex, while training reversed these changes, demonstrating bidirectional plasticity in writer's cramp patients.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Neuroplasticity
  • Motor Control

Background:

  • Longitudinal voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies indicate that training enhances grey matter volume in cortical areas.
  • Writer's cramp, a task-specific hand dystonia, involves altered motor control and potentially maladaptive plasticity.
  • Understanding structural brain changes related to manual activity suppression and enhancement is crucial for therapeutic interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether manual activity suppression (immobilization) or enhancement (training) induces opposing changes in grey matter volume.
  • To examine changes in the contralateral primary motor hand area (M1(HAND)) in patients with writer's cramp.
  • To assess concurrent alterations in regional corticomotor excitability using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).

Main Methods:

  • A within-subject design using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on T1-weighted MRIs.
  • 14 right-handed patients with writer's cramp underwent 4 weeks of hand immobilization followed by 8 weeks of motor retraining.
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) measured resting motor threshold (RMT) to assess corticomotor excitability every 4 weeks.

Main Results:

  • Hand immobilization led to a relative decrease in grey matter in the left M1(HAND) and increased RMT, indicating reduced corticomotor excitability.
  • Subsequent motor retraining reversed these effects, showing an increase in left M1(HAND) grey matter density and enhanced corticomotor excitability (decreased RMT).
  • Relative changes in grey matter density correlated significantly with relative shifts in RMT, linking structural and functional plasticity.

Conclusions:

  • Grey matter density in the primary motor hand area (M1(HAND)) is dynamically modulated by the level of manual activity.
  • Manual activity suppression and enhancement induce bidirectional structural plasticity in the motor cortex.
  • These structural brain changes are functionally relevant, mirroring alterations in regional corticomotor excitability.