Ipsilateral motor activation during unimanual and bimanual motor tasks.
OBJECTIVE
To test for the presence and possible asymmetry of ipsilateral motor activation during unimanual and bimanual motor tasks.


METHODS
Twelve right-handed healthy subjects underwent motor evoked potential (MEP) measurement of one hand (target-hand) while the other hand (task-hand) performed different motor tasks. The target-hand was either at rest (first experiment) or performed a Perdue PegBoard task (second experiment). The task-hand was either at rest, performed a simultaneous pegboard task, or rotated a coin (second experiment).


RESULTS
In the first experiment, the motor task resulted in significant increase in MEP area in the target-hand, regardless which hand was the task-hand, with a greater increase when the left hand was the task-hand. In the second experiment, ipsilateral motor activation was not present for either hand, however, when the right hand was the task-hand, performance of continuous coin rotation by the right hand resulted in a significant decrease in the MEP area of the left hand.


CONCLUSIONS
Hemispheric asymmetry and task-dependence of ipsilateral motor cortex activation supports the postulate that motor activity may start bilaterally with subsequent interhemispheric inhibition. Furthermore, in right-handers, the left motor cortex is either more active in ipsilateral hand movements or exerts more effective inhibitory control over the right motor cortex than vice versa.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that hemispheric asymmetry in ipsilateral motor control is a factor in determining motor dominance in right-handed individuals.
Ghacibeh
Georges A
GA
University of Florida, Department of Neurology, P.O. Box 100236, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. ghacig@neurology.ufl.edu
Mirpuri
Ravi
R
Drago
Valeria
V
Jeong
Yong
Y
Heilman
Kenneth M
KM
Triggs
William J
WJ
D000328:Adult; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation