Department of Physical Education, Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Qingdao University, China.
PeerJ. 2022 Aug 30;10:e13987. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13987. eCollection 2022.
It is widely held that emotions prime the body for action. However, the influence of gender on primary motor cortex (M1) excitability during emotional processing is not well explored.
Using single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), we stimulated the right or left M1 at 150 ms and 300 ms after emotional stimulation onset (presentation of negative, neutral, and positive pictures to male and female subjects). Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) ratio induced by single-pulse TMS was used to assess changes in corticospinal excitability.
In response to right M1 stimulation, males demonstrated higher MEP ratios following presentation of negative pictures at 150 ms while MEP ratios in response to presentation of positive pictures were greater at 300 ms. Furthermore, male subjects showed larger MEP ratios in right M1 versus left M1 at 300 ms after initiation of positive pictures, indicating lateralization of motor excitability in male subjects.
The current study thus provides neurophysiological evidence to support gender differences and functional lateralization of motor excitability in response to emotional stimuli.
人们普遍认为情绪会使身体为行动做好准备。然而，性别对情绪处理过程中初级运动皮层（M1）兴奋性的影响尚未得到充分探索。
使用单次脉冲经颅磁刺激（TMS），我们在情绪刺激开始后 150ms 和 300ms 时刺激右侧或左侧 M1（向男性和女性受试者呈现负面、中性和正面图片）。使用单脉冲 TMS 诱导的运动诱发电位（MEP）比率来评估皮质脊髓兴奋性的变化。
在右侧 M1 刺激时，男性在 150ms 时呈现负面图片后表现出更高的 MEP 比率，而在 300ms 时呈现正面图片后的 MEP 比率更高。此外，男性受试者在呈现正面图片后 300ms 时，右侧 M1 的 MEP 比率大于左侧 M1，表明男性受试者的运动兴奋性存在功能侧化。
因此，本研究提供了神经生理学证据，支持了性别差异和情绪刺激反应中运动兴奋性的功能侧化。
