title: Role of brain hemispheric dominance in anticipatory postural control strategies.
abstract: Most of the cerebral functions are asymmetrically represented in the two hemispheres. Moreover, dexterity and coordination of the distal segment of the dominant limbs depend on cortico-motor lateralization. In this study, we investigated whether postural control may be also considered a lateralized hemispheric brain function. To this aim, 15 young subjects were tested in standing position by measuring center of pressure (COP) shifts along the anteroposterior axis (COP-Y) during dynamic posturography before and after continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) intervention applied to the dominant or non-dominant M1 hand area as well as to the vertex. We show that when subjects were expecting a forward platform translation, the COP-Y was positioned significantly backward or forward after dominant or non-dominant M1 stimulation, respectively. We postulate that cTBS applied on M1 may have disrupted the functional connectivity between intra- and interhemispheric areas implicated in the anticipatory control of postural stability. This study suggests a functional asymmetry between the two homologous primary motor areas, with the dominant hemisphere playing a critical role in the selection of the appropriate postural control strategy.
authors.affiliation: U.O.P. Professioni della Riabilitazione, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy. cioncoloni9@unisi.it.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cioncoloni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rosignoli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab. (Si-BIN Lab), University of Siena, Siena, Italy.|School of Psychology, Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feurra
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab. (Si-BIN Lab), University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonifazi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: Neurologia e Neurofisiologia Clinica, Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche e Neurosensoriali, Azienda Ospedaliera, Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mazzocchio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dominance, cerebral; Functional laterality; Postural balance; Transcranial magnetic stimulation