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. 2013 Nov 22:7:168.
doi: 10.3389/fncom.2013.00168. eCollection 2013.

Increased motor cortex excitability during motor imagery in brain-computer interface trained subjects

Olesya A Mokienko  1 , Alexander V Chervyakov, Sofia N Kulikova, Pavel D Bobrov, Liudmila A Chernikova, Alexander A Frolov, Mikhail A Piradov
Affiliations

Increased motor cortex excitability during motor imagery in brain-computer interface trained subjects

Olesya A Mokienko et al. Front Comput Neurosci. .

Abstract

Background: Motor imagery (MI) is the mental performance of movement without muscle activity. It is generally accepted that MI and motor performance have similar physiological mechanisms.

Purpose: To investigate the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas during MI in subjects who were previously trained with an MI-based brain-computer interface (BCI).

Subjects and methods: Eleven healthy volunteers without neurological impairments (mean age, 36 years; range: 24-68 years) were either trained with an MI-based BCI (BCI-trained, n = 5) or received no BCI training (n = 6, controls). Subjects imagined grasping in a blocked paradigm task with alternating rest and task periods. For evaluating the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas we used functional MRI and navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS).

Results: fMRI revealed activation in Brodmann areas 3 and 6, the cerebellum, and the thalamus during MI in all subjects. The primary motor cortex was activated only in BCI-trained subjects. The associative zones of activation were larger in non-trained subjects. During MI, motor evoked potentials recorded from two of the three targeted muscles were significantly higher only in BCI-trained subjects. The motor threshold decreased (median = 17%) during MI, which was also observed only in BCI-trained subjects.

Conclusion: Previous BCI training increased motor cortex excitability during MI. These data may help to improve BCI applications, including rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy.

Keywords: brain-computer interface; functional MRI; motor imagery; navigated TMS; neurorehabilitation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Areas of activation during grasping imagery in BCI-trained subjects (group analysis of fMRI data, Left hand imagery > Rest, p < 0.0005). (A), Brodmann areas 3 and 4; (B), supplementary motor cortex; (C), cerebellum.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Areas of activation during grasping imagery in untrained subjects (group analysis of fMRI data, Left hand imagery > Rest, p < 0.0005). (A), Brodmann areas 3 and 4; (B), supplementary motor cortex; (C), cerebellum; (D), insula; (E), Brodmann area 9; (F), Brodmann area 40.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Motor representation of target muscles in a BCI-trained subject. (A), background mapping; (B), mapping during motor imagery.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of mapping results obtained during motor imagery in a BCI-trained subject by using fMRI (fist clenching imagery task) and nTMS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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