title: Functional MRI in the assessment of cortical activation in subjects with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate cortical activation patterns in patients with Parkinson's disease during a relatively complex motor task.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven patients (six men and one woman) with lateralised akinetic-rigid Parkinson's disease underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain with a 1.5-T magnet. Finger tapping was chosen as a motor task. The control group included 11 volunteers (six men and five women) with no neurological disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients showed hyperactivity of the ipsilateral and contralateral motor cortex associated with bilateral over-activation of the parietal cortex during movement of the affected hand. In some cases, there was a lack of activation of the pre-motor and supplementary motor areas whereas, when present, activation in these areas was greater during movement of the healthy hand. Finally, activation of the occipital cortex was found in all patients as a result of their tendency to control movement visually.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this study confirm a re-organisation of cortical circuits due to subcortical damage in patient's with Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Unità Clinica Operativa di Radiologia, Università degli Studi, Ospedale di Cattinara, Strada di Fiume, 447, 1-34149 Trieste, Italy. mukmar@sirm.org
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ukmar
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Furlan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garbin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torre
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cova
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance