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- Title
Strong Functional Connectivity among Homotopic Brain Areas Is Vital for Motor Control in Unilateral Limb Movement.
- Authors
Pengxu Wei; Zuting Zhang; Zeping Lv; Bin Jing
- Abstract
The mechanism underlying brain region organization for motor control in humans remains poorly understood. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, right-handed volunteers were tasked to maintain unilateral foot movements on the right and left sides as consistently as possible. We aimed to identify the similarities and differences between brain motor networks of the two conditions. We recruited 18 right-handed healthy volunteers aged 25 ± 2.3 years and used a whole-body 3T system for magnetic resonance (MR) scanning. Image analysis was performed using SPM8, Conn toolbox and Brain Connectivity Toolbox. We determined a craniocaudally distributed, mirror-symmetrical modular structure. The functional connectivity between homotopic brain areas was generally stronger than the intrahemispheric connections, and such strong connectivity led to the abovementioned modular structure. Our findings indicated that the interhemispheric functional interaction between homotopic brain areas is more intensive than the interaction along the conventional top-down and bottom-up pathways within the brain during unilateral limb movement. The detected strong interhemispheric horizontal functional interaction is an important aspect of motor control but often neglected or underestimated. The strong interhemispheric connectivity may explain the physiological phenomena and effects of promising therapeutic approaches. Further accurate and effective therapeutic methods may be developed on the basis of our findings.
- Subjects
BRAIN physiology; MAGNETIC resonance imaging; FOOT movements; THERAPEUTICS; EXTREMITIES (Anatomy)
- Publication
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2017, p1
- ISSN
1662-5161
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fnhum.2017.00366