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Motor system modulation for movement direction and rotation angle during motor imagery
F Pizzolato1, M Fiorio, P Cesari
1Faculty of Motor and Sport Science, Department of Neurological, Neuropsychological, Morphological and Movement Science, University of Verona, Italy.
Neuroscience
|May 29, 2012
Summary
Motor imagery activates the brain's motor system bilaterally, with specific muscle engagement mirroring movement direction. This suggests internal coordination of movement parameters during imagined actions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Control
- Cognitive Neuroscience
Background:
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies indicate motor system facilitation during imagined actions.
- The bilateral and selective modulation of the motor system for task parameters like movement direction and amplitude remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the motor system modulates bilaterally and selectively during motor imagery.
- To examine the influence of movement direction and amplitude on motor cortex activation during imagined actions.
Main Methods:
- Single-pulse TMS applied over left and right primary motor cortex (M1) in healthy subjects.
- Participants imagined grasping and rotating a clock hand with right and left hands towards different times.
- Motor-evoked potentials recorded from three muscles to assess motor system activation.
Main Results:
- A mirroring activation pattern observed between right and left motor cortices during motor imagery.
- Selective activation of hand-intrinsic muscles correlated with the direction of imagined movement.
- Higher activation for large and lower activation for small rotation angles, but no selective muscle activity for angle parameter.
Conclusions:
- Motor imagery involves bilateral motor system engagement with muscle-specific activation for movement direction.
- An internally coded covariance between movement parameters is proposed to exist during action imagination.
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