首页 | 本学科首页   官方微博 | 高级检索  
     


Task-dependent activation of distinct fast and slow(er) motor pathways during motor imagery
Authors:Martin Keller  Wolfgang Taube  Benedikt Lauber
Affiliation:1. Movement and Sport Sciences, Department of Neurosciences and Movement Sciences, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland;2. Department of Sport and Sport Science, University of Freiburg, 79117 Freiburg, Germany;3. Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Abstract:

Background

Motor imagery and actual movements share overlapping activation of brain areas but little is known about task-specific activation of distinct motor pathways during mental simulation of movements. For real contractions, it was demonstrated that the slow(er) motor pathways are activated differently in ballistic compared to tonic contractions but it is unknown if this also holds true for imagined contractions.

Objective

The aim of the present study was to assess the activity of fast and slow(er) motor pathways during mentally simulated movements of ballistic and tonic contractions.

Methods

H-reflexes were conditioned with transcranial magnetic stimulation at different interstimulus intervals to assess the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways during a) the execution of tonic and ballistic contractions, b) motor imagery of these contraction types, and c) at rest.

Results

In contrast to the fast motor pathways, the slow(er) pathways displayed a task-specific activation: for imagined ballistic as well as real ballistic contractions, the activation was reduced compared to rest whereas enhanced activation was found for imagined tonic and real tonic contractions.

Conclusions

This study provides evidence that the excitability of fast and slow(er) motor pathways during motor imagery resembles the activation pattern observed during real contractions. The findings indicate that motor imagery results in task- and pathway-specific subliminal activation of distinct subsets of neurons in the primary motor cortex.
Keywords:Corticospinal tract  Motor imagery  Pathway-specific and task-specific activation  Primary motor cortex  Transcranial magnetic stimulation  ANOVA  analysis of variance  EMG  electromyography  ISI  interstimulus interval  maximum H-reflex  maximum M-wave  MEP  motor evoked potential  TMS  transcranial magnetic stimulation  M1  primary motor cortex
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录!
设为首页 | 免责声明 | 关于勤云 | 加入收藏

Copyright©北京勤云科技发展有限公司  京ICP备09084417号