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The Time Course of Changes in Motor Cortex Excitability Associated with Voluntary Movement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2014

Robert Chen  and
Mark Hallett
Robert Chen
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, University Health Network and University of Toronto, Toronto
Mark Hallett
Affiliation:
The Human Motor Control Section, National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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Abstract

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The excitability of the motor cortex is modulated before and after voluntary movements. Transcranial magnetic stimulation studies showed increased corticospinal excitability from about 80 and 100 ms before EMG onset for simple reaction time and self-paced movements, respectively. Following voluntary movements, there are two phases of increased corticospinal excitability from 0 to approximately 100 ms and from approximately 100 to 160 ms after EMG offset. The first phase may correspond to the frontal peak of motor potential in movement-related cortical potentials studies and the movement-evoked magnetic field I (MEFI) in magnetoencephalographic (MEG) studies, and likely represents a time when decreasing output from the motor cortex falls below that required for activation of spinal motoneurons, but is still above resting levels. The second phase of increased corticospinal excitability may be due to peripheral proprioceptive inputs or may be centrally programmed representing a subthreshold, second agonist burst. This may correspond to the MEFII in MEG studies. Corticospinal excitability was reduced below baseline levels from about 500 to 1,000 ms after EMG offset, similar to the timing of increase in the power (event-related synchronization, ERS) of motor cortical rhythm. Similarly, motor cortex excitability is reduced at the time of ERS of motor cortical rhythm following median nerve stimulation. These findings support the hypothesis that ERS represents an inactive, idling state of the cortex. The time course of cortical activation is abnormal in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dystonia, reflecting abnormalities in both movement preparation and in cortical excitability following movement.

Résumé

RÉSUMÉ

L’excitabilité du cor- tex moteur est modulée avant et après les mouvements volontaires. Des études de stimulation magnétique transcrânienne ont montré une augmentation de l’excitabilité corticospinale précédant de 80 et 100 ms le début de la réponse ÉMG pour le temps de réaction simple et l’activité motrice autocom- mandée respectivement. Après un mouvement volontaire, il y a deux phases d’excitabilité corticospinale accrue de 0 à approximativement 100 ms et d’approximativement 100 à 160 ms après la fin de la réponse ÉMG. La première phase peut correspondre au pic frontal du potentiel moteur dans les études de potentiels corticaux reliés aux mouvements et le champ magnétique I évoqué par le mouvement (MEFI) dans les études magnétoencéphalo- graphiques (MEG), et représente vraisemblablement un moment où l’influx nerveux du cortex moteur tombe sous le niveau requis pour l’activation des motoneurones spinaux, mais demeure au-dessus du niveau observé au repos. La deuxième phase d’augmentation de l’excitabilité corticospinale peut être due à des influx proprioceptifs périphériques ou peut être programmée centralement, représentant une poussée agoniste secondaire sous le seuil. Ceci peut correspondre au MEFII dans les études MEG. L’excitabilité corticospinale était diminuée sous le niveau de base d’environ 500 à 1,000 ms après la fin de la réponse ÉMG, comme au moment de l’augmentation de la puissance (synchronisation reliée à l’événement, SRE) du rythme cortical moteur. Pareillement, l’excitabilité du cortex moteur est diminuée au moment des SRE du rythme cortical moteur après une stimulation du nerf médi- an. Ces observations supportent l’hypothèse que la SRE représente le cortex à l’état inactif. Le processus de l’activation corticale est anormal dans les désordres du mouvement tels la maladie de Parkinson et la dystonie, ce qui témoigne d’anomalies dans la préparation du mouvement et dans l’ex- citabilité corticale après le mouvement.

Type
Review Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , November 1999 , pp. 163 - 169
Copyright
Copyright © The Canadian Journal of Neurological 1999

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