The parieto-frontal circuit underlying grasping, which requires the serial involvement of the anterior intraparietal area (aIPs) and the ventral premotor cortex (PMv), has been recently extended enlightening the role of the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd). The supplementary motor area (SMA) has been also suggested to encode grip force for grasping actions; furthermore, both PMd and SMA are known to play a crucial role in motor imagery. Here, we aimed at assessing the dynamic couplings between left aIPs, PMv, PMd, SMA and primary motor cortex (M1) by comparing executed and imagined right-hand grasping, using Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) and Parametrical Empirical Bayes (PEB) analyses. 24 subjects underwent an fMRI exam (3T) during which they were asked to perform or imagine a grasping movement visually cued by photographs of commonly used objects. We tested whether the two conditions a) exert a modulatory effect on both forward and feedback couplings among our areas of interest, and b) differ in terms of strength and sign of these parameters. Results of the real condition confirmed the serial involvement of aIPs, PMv and M1. PMv also exerted a positive influence on PMd and SMA, but received an inhibitory feedback only from PMd. Our results suggest that a general motor program for grasping is planned by the aIPs-PMv circuit; then, PMd and SMA encode high-level features of the movement. During imagery, the connection strength from aIPs to PMv was weaker and the information flow stopped in PMv; thus, a less complex motor program was planned. Moreover, results suggest that SMA and PMd cooperate to prevent motor execution. In conclusion, the comparison between execution and imagery reveals that during grasping premotor areas dynamically interplay in different ways, depending on task demands.

Assessing the effective connectivity of premotor areas during real vs imagined grasping: a DCM-PEB approach / Bencivenga, F.; Sulpizio, V.; Tullo, M. G.; Galati, G.. - In: NEUROIMAGE. - ISSN 1053-8119. - 230:(2021). [10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117806]

Assessing the effective connectivity of premotor areas during real vs imagined grasping: a DCM-PEB approach

Bencivenga F.
;
Sulpizio V.;Tullo M. G.;Galati G.
2021

Abstract

The parieto-frontal circuit underlying grasping, which requires the serial involvement of the anterior intraparietal area (aIPs) and the ventral premotor cortex (PMv), has been recently extended enlightening the role of the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd). The supplementary motor area (SMA) has been also suggested to encode grip force for grasping actions; furthermore, both PMd and SMA are known to play a crucial role in motor imagery. Here, we aimed at assessing the dynamic couplings between left aIPs, PMv, PMd, SMA and primary motor cortex (M1) by comparing executed and imagined right-hand grasping, using Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) and Parametrical Empirical Bayes (PEB) analyses. 24 subjects underwent an fMRI exam (3T) during which they were asked to perform or imagine a grasping movement visually cued by photographs of commonly used objects. We tested whether the two conditions a) exert a modulatory effect on both forward and feedback couplings among our areas of interest, and b) differ in terms of strength and sign of these parameters. Results of the real condition confirmed the serial involvement of aIPs, PMv and M1. PMv also exerted a positive influence on PMd and SMA, but received an inhibitory feedback only from PMd. Our results suggest that a general motor program for grasping is planned by the aIPs-PMv circuit; then, PMd and SMA encode high-level features of the movement. During imagery, the connection strength from aIPs to PMv was weaker and the information flow stopped in PMv; thus, a less complex motor program was planned. Moreover, results suggest that SMA and PMd cooperate to prevent motor execution. In conclusion, the comparison between execution and imagery reveals that during grasping premotor areas dynamically interplay in different ways, depending on task demands.
2021
dynamic causal modelling; fMRI; grasping network; motor imagery; parametrical empirical bayes; supplementary motor area
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Assessing the effective connectivity of premotor areas during real vs imagined grasping: a DCM-PEB approach / Bencivenga, F.; Sulpizio, V.; Tullo, M. G.; Galati, G.. - In: NEUROIMAGE. - ISSN 1053-8119. - 230:(2021). [10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117806]
File allegati a questo prodotto
File Dimensione Formato  
Bencivenga_Effective-connectivity_2021.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale (versione pubblicata con il layout dell'editore)
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 1.54 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.54 MB Adobe PDF

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1524808
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 11
  • Scopus 20
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 19
social impact