Focal enhancement of motor cortex excitability during motor imagery: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study.
OBJECTIVE
In order to learn more about the physiology of the motor cortex during motor imagery, we evaluated the changes in excitability of two different hand muscle representations in the primary motor cortex (M1) of both hemispheres during two imagery conditions.


METHODS
We applied focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over each M1, recording motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from the contralateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscles during rest, imagery of contralateral thumb abduction (C-APB), and imagery of ipsilateral thumb abduction (I-APB). We obtained measures of motor threshold (MT), MEP recruitment curve (MEP-rc) and F waves.


RESULTS
Motor imagery compared with rest significantly decreased the MT and increased MEPs amplitude at stimulation intensities clearly above MT in condition C-APB, but not in condition I-APB. These effects were not significantly different between right and left hemisphere. MEPs simultaneously recorded from the FDI, which was not involved in the task, did not show facilitatory effects. There were no significant changes in F wave amplitude during motor imagery compared with rest.


CONCLUSIONS
Imagery of unilateral simple movements is associated with increased excitability only of a highly specific representation in the contralateral M1 and does not differ between hemispheres.
Facchini
S
S
Human Motor Control Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1428, USA.
Muellbacher
W
W
Battaglia
F
F
Boroojerdi
B
B
Hallett
M
M
D000328:Adult; D004594:Electrophysiology; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009068:Movement; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation