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Updated: Aug 23, 2025
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Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: February 23, 2020
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Connectivity from ipsilateral and contralateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to the active primary motor cortex
Xue Xia1, Dandan Wang2, Linqi Wang2
1School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China; Krembil Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.
Summary
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) facilitates controlled behaviors by exciting the motor cortex. This research clarifies how the DLPFC modulates automatic action tendencies.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Automatic action tendencies involve rapid responses to stimuli, contrasting with slower controlled behaviors.
- The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is implicated in modulating these action tendencies, but its precise mechanism (inhibition vs. excitation) and timing remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in modulating automatic versus controlled action tendencies.
- To determine whether DLPFC influences behavior via motor inhibition or excitation and the timing of this modulation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized paired-pulse, dual-site transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) targeting the left/right DLPFC and left primary motor cortex (M1).
- Employed the manikin task with right-hand execution to assess reaction time (RT) and premotor time (PMT) during automatic and controlled behaviors.
Main Results:
- Behavioral data confirmed faster reaction times and premotor times for automatic behaviors compared to controlled behaviors.
- Significantly stronger left DLPFC-left M1 connectivity facilitation was observed during controlled behaviors at a 25 ms interstimulus interval.
- No significant modulation of right DLPFC-left M1 connectivity was found in relation to the task.
Conclusions:
- The study confirms the existence of automatic action tendencies, observable in both reaction and premotor times.
- Contralateral DLPFC (left DLPFC for right-hand task) facilitates the motor cortex (M1) to enhance controlled behavior execution via a polysynaptic pathway.
- Findings suggest DLPFC modulates action tendencies through excitation rather than inhibition.
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