Department of Biomedical Engineering, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, Republic of Korea.
Sci Rep. 2019 Sep 4;9(1):12770. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-49254-2.
Motor imagery (MI) for target-oriented movements, which is a basis for functional activities of daily living, can be more appropriate than non-target-oriented MI as tasks to promote motor recovery or brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. This study aimed to explore different characteristics of brain activation among target-oriented kinesthetic imagery (KI) and visual imagery (VI) in the first-person (VI-1) and third-person (VI-3) perspectives. Eighteen healthy volunteers were evaluated for MI ability, trained for the three types of target-oriented MIs, and scanned using 3 T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) under MI and perceptual control conditions, presented in a block design. Post-experimental questionnaires were administered after fMRI. Common brain regions activated during the three types of MI were the left premotor area and inferior parietal lobule, irrespective of the MI modalities or perspectives. Contrast analyses showed significantly increased brain activation only in the contrast of KI versus VI-1 and KI versus VI-3 for considerably extensive brain regions, including the supplementary motor area and insula. Neural activity in the orbitofrontal cortex and cerebellum during VI-1 and KI was significantly correlated with MI ability measured by mental chronometry and a self-reported questionnaire, respectively. These results can provide a basis in developing MI-based protocols for neurorehabilitation to improve motor recovery and BCI training in severely paralyzed individuals.
针对目标导向运动的运动想象（MI）是日常生活功能性活动的基础，与非目标导向 MI 相比，其更适合用于促进运动康复或脑机接口（BCI）应用。本研究旨在探索在第一人称（VI-1）和第三人称（VI-3）视角下，目标导向动觉想象（KI）和视觉想象（VI）之间大脑激活的不同特征。18 名健康志愿者接受 MI 能力评估，接受三种目标导向 MI 的训练，并在 3T 功能磁共振成像（fMRI）下进行扫描，采用块设计进行 MI 和感知控制条件下的扫描。fMRI 后进行实验后问卷调查。三种 MI 过程中共同激活的大脑区域为左侧运动前区和下顶叶，而与 MI 模式或视角无关。对比分析显示，在 KI 与 VI-1 和 KI 与 VI-3 的对比中，大脑激活显著增加，涉及相当广泛的大脑区域，包括辅助运动区和脑岛。在 VI-1 和 KI 过程中眶额皮质和小脑的神经活动与精神计时法和自我报告问卷分别测量的 MI 能力显著相关。这些结果可为基于 MI 的神经康复协议的开发提供依据，以改善严重瘫痪个体的运动康复和 BCI 训练。
