Facilitation of Hand Proprioceptive Processing in Paraplegic Individuals with Long-Term Wheelchair Sports Training

Morita, Tomoyo; Naito, Eiichi

doi:10.3390/brainsci12101295

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…None of the regions showed significantly greater activity in the paraplegic group during the active task. Similarly, no regions showed significantly greater activity in the control group for either task (Morita and Naito 2022).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Abstract Book 6: OHBM 2024 Annual Meeting

2024

Aperture Neuro

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Abstract Book 6: OHBM 2024 Annual Meeting

2024

Aperture Neuro

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“…The dMRI data were collected from all paraplegic participants but only from 33 control participants. Findings obtained from functional data other than those reported in the present study have been previously reported [33,34]. fMRI and dMRI data were acquired using different 3.0-Tesla MRI scanners (fMRI, MAGNETON Trio Tim, Siemens, Germany; dMRI, Prisma, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) because, in the institutional setup, the Trio Tim scanner has a broader space for peripheral devices used for motor experiments.…”

Section: General Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 75%

Functional and Structural Properties of Interhemispheric Interaction between Bilateral Precentral Hand Motor Regions in a Top Wheelchair Racing Paralympian

2023

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Long-term motor training can cause functional and structural changes in the human brain. Assessing how the training of specific movements affects specific parts of the neural circuitry is essential to understand better the underlying mechanisms of motor training-induced plasticity in the human brain. We report a single-case neuroimaging study that investigated functional and structural properties in a professional athlete of wheelchair racing. As wheelchair racing requires bilateral synchronization of upper limb movements, we hypothesized that functional and structural properties of interhemispheric interactions in the central motor system might differ between the professional athlete and controls. Functional and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI and dMRI) data were obtained from a top Paralympian (P1) in wheelchair racing. With 23 years of wheelchair racing training starting at age eight, she holds an exceptional competitive record. Furthermore, fMRI and dMRI data were collected from three other paraplegic participants (P2-P4) with long-term wheelchair sports training other than wheelchair racing and 37 able-bodied control volunteers. Based on the fMRI data analyses, P1 showed activation in the bilateral precentral hand sections and greater functional connectivity between these sections during a right-hand unimanual task. In contrast, other paraplegic participants and controls showed activation in the contralateral hemisphere and deactivation in the ipsilateral hemisphere. Moreover, dMRI data analysis revealed that P1 exhibited significantly lower mean diffusivity along the transcallosal pathway connecting the bilateral precentral motor regions than control participants, which was not observed in the other paraplegic participants. These results suggest that long-term training with bilaterally synchronized upper-limb movements may promote bilateral recruitment of the precentral hand sections. Such recruitment may affect the structural circuitry involved in the interhemispheric interaction between the bilateral precentral regions. This study provides valuable evidence of the extreme adaptability of the human brain.

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Theoretical proposal for restoration of hand motor function based on plasticity of motor-cortical interhemispheric interaction and its developmental rule

Nakano,

Tang,

Morita

et al. 2024

Front. Neurol.

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After stroke, the poorer recovery of motor function of upper extremities compared to other body parts is a longstanding problem. Based on our recent functional MRI evidence on healthy volunteers, this perspective paper proposes systematic hand motor rehabilitation utilizing the plasticity of interhemispheric interaction between motor cortices and following its developmental rule. We first discuss the effectiveness of proprioceptive intervention on the paralyzed (immobile) hand synchronized with voluntary movement of the intact hand to induce muscle activity in the paretic hand. In healthy participants, we show that this bilateral proprioceptive-motor coupling intervention activates the bilateral motor cortices (= bilaterally active mode), facilitates interhemispheric motor-cortical functional connectivity, and augments muscle activity of the passively-moved hand. Next, we propose training both hands to perform different movements, which would be effective for stroke patients who becomes able to manage to move the paretic hand. This bilaterally different movement training may guide the motor cortices into left–right independent mode to improve interhemispheric inhibition and hand dexterity, because we have shown in healthy older adults that this training reactivates motor-cortical interhemispheric inhibition (= left–right independent mode) declined with age, and can improve hand dexterity. Transition of both motor cortices from the bilaterally active mode to the left–right independent mode is a developmental rule of hand motor function and a common feature of motor function recovery after stroke. Hence, incorporating the brain’s inherent capacity for spontaneous recovery and adhering to developmental principles may be crucial considerations in designing effective rehabilitation strategies.

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Facilitation of Hand Proprioceptive Processing in Paraplegic Individuals with Long-Term Wheelchair Sports Training

Cited by 3 publications

References 41 publications

Abstract Book 6: OHBM 2024 Annual Meeting

Abstract Book 6: OHBM 2024 Annual Meeting

Functional and Structural Properties of Interhemispheric Interaction between Bilateral Precentral Hand Motor Regions in a Top Wheelchair Racing Paralympian

Theoretical proposal for restoration of hand motor function based on plasticity of motor-cortical interhemispheric interaction and its developmental rule

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