Skilled performance is characterized by precise and flexible control of movement sequences in space and time. Recent theories suggest that integrated spatio-temporal trajectories are generated by intrinsic dynamics of motor and premotor networks. This contrasts with behavioural advantages that emerge when a trained spatial or temporal feature of sequences is transferred to a new spatio-temporal...

OBJECTIVE Accurate noninvasive assessment of motor function using functional MRI (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a challenge in patients who are very young or who are developmentally delayed. In such cases, passive mapping of the sensorimotor cortex is performed under sedation. We examined the feasibility of using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a motor mapping tool in awa...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It is known that the motor cortex shows hypointensity on T2-weighted images in older patients. The goal of this study was to assess the signal intensity of the motor cortices on the phase-weighted imaging performed with a Windows-based software program that we developed ourselves. MATERIALS AND METHODS All studies were performed at 3T MR imaging. First, the TE for the p...

Motor cortex output is capable of considerable reorganization, which involves modulation of excitability within the cortex. Does such reorganization also involve changes beyond the cortex, at the level of throughput from single motor cortex neurons to muscle activity? We examined such throughput during a paradigm that provided incentive for enhancing functional connectivity from motor cortex ne...

Recent advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been used to reconstruct cognitive states based on brain activity evoked by sensory or cognitive stimuli. To date, such decoding paradigms were mostly used for visual modalities. On the other hand, reconstructing functional brain activity in motor areas was primarily achieved through more invasive electrophysiological techniqu...

Blocking motor cortical output with lesions or pharmacological inactivation has identified movements that require motor cortex. Yet, when and how motor cortex influences muscle activity during movement execution remains unresolved. We addressed this ambiguity using measurement and perturbation of motor cortical activity together with electromyography in mice during two forelimb movements that d...

The posterior parietal cortex is a fundamental structure for visuo-motor integration and control. Here I discuss recent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that I interpret as suggesting four concepts. The evolutionary process has enlarged the human posterior parietal cortex while still preserving the internal structure of the posteri...

Motor learning changes the activity of cortical motor and subcortical areas of the brain, but does learning affect sensory systems as well? We examined in humans the effects of motor learning using fMRI measures of functional connectivity under resting conditions and found persistent changes in networks involving both motor and somatosensory areas of the brain. We developed a technique that all...