Movement-related potentials associated with bilateral simultaneous and unilateral movements recorded from human supplementary motor area.

To clarify the differences of movement-related potentials (MRPs) among ipsilateral, contralateral and simultaneous bilateral movements, MRPs with finger, thumb or foot movements were recorded from subdural electrodes chronically implanted on the supplementary motor area (SMA) in 3 patients, and also from the primary sensorimotor area in two of them being evaluated for epilepsy surgery. As a result: (1) SMA generated clear pre-movement potentials regardless of the type of movement. Its amplitude was almost identical between contralateral and bilateral movements except for the motor potential (MP). The pre-movement potentials associated with ipsilateral movements were relatively smaller than those with contralateral or bilateral movements. (2) The primary sensorimotor area generated clear pre-movement potentials in contralateral and bilateral movements with similar amplitude. With ipsilateral hand movements, however, only a small Bereitschaftspotential (BP) and no negative slope (NS') or MP was seen, and ipsilateral foot movements were not preceded by any BP. It is, therefore, most likely that, as far as the preparation for simple voluntary self-paced movement is concerned, the SMA plays an equally important role in unilateral and bilateral movements, whereas the primary sensorimotor area is involved predominantly in the preparation of contralateral movements.