ATYPICAL NEUROPLASTICITY CHANGES OF M. EXTENSOR DIGITORUM COMMUNIS CORTICAL REPRESENTATION IN LEFT-HANDED INDIVIDUALS AFTER MOTOR IMAGERY TRAINING SESSIONS ENHANCED BY BRAIN COMPUTER INTERFACEстатья
Аннотация:Numerous studies have shown that motor imagery (MI) potentiates activation of
the cortical areas responsible for planning and performing movements.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive method which is used
for mapping brain functions and studying neurophysiological characteristics of
processes responsible for motor functions implementation. The interhemispheric
asymmetry phenomenon and specifics of neuroplastic processes in left-handed
persons are poorly studied. The aim of ourstudywas to investigatethe
reorganization of cortical motor representation of extensor digitorum communis
muscle after MI training course enhanced by brain computer interface (BCI) in
left- and right-handed individuals. 8 healthy volunteers (2 of them were lefthanded)
were enrolled. Every volunteer completed 10 training sessions of BCIenhanced
MI. Mapping of m. extensor digitorum communis of dominant hand
cortical motor representation with the evaluation of area, weighted area and the
location of centers of gravity using self-designed program software was
performed before and after 10 training sessions. Cortical representation areas
were visualized using spherical Voronoi tessellation. Two left-handed individuals
had area and center of gravity multidirectional displacement more than 13 mm
(modulo average displacement was 14,58 mm) while right-handed individuals
had no more than 5 mm displacement (average displacement 3,50 mm).
Moreover, there was an increase in motor representation area by an average of
82,1 mm2, and its weighted area rose by 10472.0 μV *mm2. The results are
summarized as follows: BCI enhanced MI trainings result in reliable neuroplastic
changes in the form of increased motor representation areas; the displacement of
cortical motor representation was significantly bigger in left-handed individuals
compared to right-handed ones.