Reduction of excitability ("inhibition") in the ipsilateral primary motor cortex is mirrored by fMRI signal decreases

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate how focal cortical inhibition affects the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal. Phasic low force pinch grip reduces excitability of the ipsilateral primary motor cortex. This task was used to study BOLD signal changes during inhibition. Six right-handed normal volunteers participated in the study. They were asked to perform a right-handed pinch grip repetitively at 1 Hz and 5% of their individual maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). Data were acquired with a 1.5 Tesla Magnetom and continuous multislice T2*-weighted images. The contralateral primary motor cortex (M1) revealed an activation in the knob-shaped hand representation of the central sulcus area. More importantly, a decreased (often referred to as "negative") BOLD signal in the ipsilateral M1 was observed. We suggest phasic low force pinch grip as a reproducible, easy model of focal inhibition. Decreased cortical excitability presents as decreased BOLD signal using fMRI.