An fMRI study of the differences in brain activity during active ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion.
Little is known regarding the differences in active cortical and subcortical systems during opposing movements of an agonist-antagonist muscle group. The objective of this study was to characterize the differences in cortical activation during active ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion using functional MRI (fMRI). Eight right-handed healthy adults performed auditorily cued right ankle dorsiflexions and plantarflexions during fMRI. Differences in activity patterns between dorsiflexion and plantarflexion during fMRI were assessed using between- and within-subject voxel-wise t-tests. Results indicated that ankle dorsiflexion recruited significantly more regions in left M1, the supplementary motor area (SMA) bilaterally, and right cerebellum. Both movements activated similar left hemisphere regions in the putamen and thalamus. Dorsiflexion activated additional areas in the right putamen. Results suggest that ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion may be controlled by both shared and independent neural circuitry. This has important implications for functional investigations of gait pathology and how rehabilitation may differentially affect each movement.
Trinastic
Jonathan P
JP
Department of Veteran Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Brain Rehabilitation Research Center at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida, USA. jptrinastic@ufl.edu
Kautz
Steven A
SA
McGregor
Keith
K
Gregory
Chris
C
Bowden
Mark
M
Benjamin
Michelle B
MB
Kurtzman
Marc
M
Chang
Yu Ling
YL
Conway
Tim
T
Crosson
Bruce
B
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000842:Ankle / Q000502:physiology*; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D012146:Rest; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted