Research article summary (published 29 Nov 2002):

Transcranial magnetic stimulation study of plastic changes of human motor cortex after repetitive simple muscle contractions.

Full Abstract

Studies of use-dependent changes in neural activation have recently focused on the primary motor cortex. To detect the excitability changes in the primary motor cortex after practice in human subjects, motor-evoked potentials by transcranial magnetic stimulation during motor imagery after just 10 sessions of simple index finger abduction were examined. The present results indicate that width of the output map and amplitudes of motor-evoked potential became progressively larger until practice ended. These flexible short-term modulations of human primary motor cortex seem important and could lead to structural changes in the intracortical networks as the skill becomes more learned and automatic, i.e., 'adaptation' as one of the neural mechanisms related to motor learning.

Learn Faster Today      Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Hayashi, Shikako (S); Hasegawa, Yoshiteru (Y); Kasai, Tatsuya (T);

Affiliation: Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima City, Japan.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Perceptual and motor skills (Percept Mot Skills), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Dec; vol 95 (issue 3 Pt 1) : pp 699-705

Dates: Created 2003/01/01; Completed 2003/04/07; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 12509162, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Evoked Potentials, Motor - physiology Fingers - innervation Humans Imagination - physiology Male

Male Motor Activity - physiology Motor Cortex - physiology Nerve Net - physiology Neuronal Plasticity - physiology Practice (Psychology)

Related articles

This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.

See 100+ related articles.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.