Facilitation of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle is dependent on different motor images.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to explain why mental practice can improve motor performance.
METHODS: MEPs were recorded from right and left first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles of 9 normal, right-handed subjects during different motor images of index finger movement: (1) rest, (2) flexion, (3) abduction, (4) extension. A paired t test was used to compare differences of stimulus intensities and MEP amplitudes among conditions.
RESULTS: MEP amplitudes significantly increased in both FDI muscles during motor images of flexion and abduction but not of extension. Moreover, MEP amplitudes were larger in flexion than in abduction. These differences were proportional to the amount of real EMG discharge of FDI muscle in the selected direction of index finger movement. With regard to right-left differences, MEP amplitudes in the right FDI muscle were larger than those in the left.
CONCLUSIONS: The primary motor cortex plays a role in the mental representation of motor acts. Furthermore, the amount of corticomotoneuronal cell activity is affected by the different motor images utilizing the same muscle. Right-left difference of MEP amplitude supports the view of left-hemisphere dominance for motor programming as an aspect of normal brain function among right-handers.