title: Cortical activation during motor imagery is reduced in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
abstract: The neural correlates of motor execution in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) are challenging to investigate due to muscle weakness. Alternatives to traditional motor execution paradigms are therefore of great interest. This study tested the hypothesis that patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) would show increased cortical activation during motor imagery compared to healthy controls, as seen in studies of motor execution. Functional MRI was used to measure activation during a block design paradigm contrasting imagery of right hand movements against rest in 16 patients with ALS and 17 age-matched healthy controls. Patients with ALS showed reduced activation during motor imagery in the left inferior parietal lobule, and in the anterior cingulate gyrus and medial pre-frontal cortex. This reduction in cortical activation during motor imagery contrasts with the pattern seen during motor execution. This may represent the disruption of normal motor imagery networks by ALS pathology outside the primary motor cortex.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research and Department of Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry PO41, De Crespigny Park, London, UK. b.stanton@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Biba R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Stanton
authors.forename: Victoria C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: P Nigel
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Leigh
authors.forename: Steven C R
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Camilla R V
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Blain
authors.forename: Vincent P
authors.initials: VP
authors.lastname: Giampietro
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Simmons
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007092:Imagination; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen