Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; Laboratory for Investigative Neurophysiology (The LINE), Department of Radiology and Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University Hospital Center (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Brain Stimul. 2018 Jan-Feb;11(1):175-180. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2017.09.014. Epub 2017 Oct 3.
Movement simulation helps increasing the chances to reach goals. A cognitive task used to study the neuro-behavioral aspects of movement simulation is mental rotation: people mentally re-orient rotated pictures of hands. However, the involvement of the primary motor cortex (M1) in mental rotation is largely controversial.
Such inconsistency could arise from potential methodological flaws in experimental procedures and data analysis. In particular, until now, the timing of M1 activity has been computed in absolute terms: from the onset of mental rotation (onset-locked), neglecting intra- and inter-subject variability.
A novel phase-locked approach is introduced to synchronize the same phases of cognitive processing among different subjects and sessions. This approach was validated in the particular case of corticospinal excitability of the motor cortex during mental rotation.
We identified the relative time-windows during which the excitability of M1 is effector-specifically modulated by different features of mental rotation. These time windows correspond to the 55%-85% of the subjective timing.
In sum, (i) we introduce a new method to study the neurophysiology of motor cognition, and (ii) validating this method, we shed new light on the involvement of M1 in movement simulation.
运动模拟有助于提高实现目标的机会。认知任务常用于研究运动模拟的神经行为方面，即心理旋转：人们在心理上重新定位旋转的手的图片。然而，初级运动皮层（M1）在心理旋转中的参与存在很大争议。
这种不一致可能源于实验程序和数据分析中的潜在方法学缺陷。特别是，到目前为止，M1 活动的时间已从心理旋转的开始（锁定开始）进行了计算，忽略了个体内和个体间的可变性。
引入了一种新的锁相方法，以在不同的受试者和会话中同步认知处理的相同阶段。该方法在心理旋转期间运动皮层的皮质脊髓兴奋性的特定情况下进行了验证。
我们确定了在主观时间的 55%-85%内，M1 的兴奋性通过心理旋转的不同特征特异性地调制的相对时间窗口。这些时间窗口对应于主观时间的 55%-85%。
总之，（i）我们引入了一种新的方法来研究运动认知的神经生理学，（ii）通过验证这种方法，我们为 M1 在运动模拟中的参与提供了新的见解。
