OBJECTIVE: To evaluate two commonly used forms of hand training with respect to influence on dexterity and cortical reorganization. SUBJECTS:Thirty healthy volunteers (mean age 24.2 years). METHODS: The subjects were randomized to 25 min of shaping exercises or general activity training of the non-dominant hand. The dexterity and the cortical motor maps (number of excitable positions) of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle were evaluated pre- and post-training by the Purdue Peg Board test and transcranial magnetic stimulation, respectively. RESULTS: After shaping exercises the dexterity increased significantly (p < or = 0.005) for both hands, mostly so in the non-dominant hand. The cortical motor map of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle shifted forwardly into the pre-motor area without expanding. After general activity training, no significant improvements in dexterity were found for the non-dominant hand. The cortical motor map of the non-dominant abductor pollicis brevis muscle expanded significantly (p = 0.03) in the posterior (sensory) direction. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that shaping exercises, but not general activity training, increase dexterity of the trained non-dominant hand in parallel with a shift of location of active transcranial magnetic stimulation positions. Shifts of active cortical areas might be important for the interpretation of brain plasticity in common behavioural tasks.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate two commonly used forms of hand training with respect to influence on dexterity and cortical reorganization. SUBJECTS: Thirty healthy volunteers (mean age 24.2 years). METHODS: The subjects were randomized to 25 min of shaping exercises or general activity training of the non-dominant hand. The dexterity and the cortical motor maps (number of excitable positions) of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle were evaluated pre- and post-training by the Purdue Peg Board test and transcranial magnetic stimulation, respectively. RESULTS: After shaping exercises the dexterity increased significantly (p < or = 0.005) for both hands, mostly so in the non-dominant hand. The cortical motor map of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle shifted forwardly into the pre-motor area without expanding. After general activity training, no significant improvements in dexterity were found for the non-dominant hand. The cortical motor map of the non-dominant abductor pollicis brevis muscle expanded significantly (p = 0.03) in the posterior (sensory) direction. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that shaping exercises, but not general activity training, increase dexterity of the trained non-dominant hand in parallel with a shift of location of active transcranial magnetic stimulation positions. Shifts of active cortical areas might be important for the interpretation of brain plasticity in common behavioural tasks.
Authors: Stephanie A Martinez; Nhuquynh D Nguyen; Eric Bailey; Denis Doyle-Green; Henry A Hauser; John P Handrakis; Steven Knezevic; Casey Marett; Jennifer Weinman; Angelica F Romero; Tiffany M Santiago; Ajax H Yang; Lok Yung; Pierre K Asselin; Joseph P Weir; Stephen D Kornfeld; William A Bauman; Ann M Spungen; Noam Y Harel Journal: PLoS One Date: 2018-08-09 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Ela B Plow; Nicole Varnerin; David A Cunningham; Daniel Janini; Corin Bonnett; Alexandria Wyant; Juliet Hou; Vlodek Siemionow; Xiao-Feng Wang; Andre G Machado; Guang H Yue Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-02-21 Impact factor: 3.240