title: fMRI study of motor cortex activity modulation in early Parkinson's disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease is a neurological disorder associated with the disfunction of dopaminergic pathways of the basal ganglia, mainly resulting in a progressive alteration in the execution of voluntary movements. We present a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study on cortical activations during simple motor task performance, in six early-stage hemiparkinsonian patients and seven healthy volunteers. We acquired data in three sessions, during which subjects performed the task with right or left hand, or bimanually. We observed consistent bilateral activations in cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of Parkinsonian subjects during the execution of the task with the affected hand. In addition, patients showed both larger and stronger activations in motor cortex of the affected hemisphere with respect to the healthy hemisphere. Compared with the control group, patients showed a hyperactivation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the affected hemisphere. We concluded that a presymptomatic reorganization of the motor system is likely to occur in Parkinson's disease at earlier stages than previously hypothesized. Moreover, our results support fMRI as a sensitive technique for revealing the initial involvement of motor cortex areas at the debut of this degenerative disorder.
authors.affiliation: MARBILab, Museo storico della fisica e Centro di studi e ricerche Enrico Fermi, c/o Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moraschi
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giulietti
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giove
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guardati
authors.forename: Girolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garreffa
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Modugno
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colonnese
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maraviglia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005385:Fingers; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology*