Bachtiar, V;
Johnstone, A;
Berrington, A;
Lemke, C;
Johansen-Berg, H;
Emir, U;
Stagg, CJ;
(2018)
Modulating Regional Motor Cortical Excitability with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Results in Neurochemical Changes in Bilateral Motor Cortices.
Journal of Neuroscience
, 38
(33)
pp. 7327-7336.
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2853-17.2018.
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Abstract
Learning a novel motor skill is dependent both on regional changes within the primary motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the active hand and also on modulation between and within anatomically distant but functionally connected brain regions. Interregional changes are particularly important in functional recovery after stroke, when critical plastic changes underpinning behavioral improvements are observed in both ipsilesional and contralesional M1s. It is increasingly understood that reduction in GABA in the contralateral M1 is necessary to allow learning of a motor task. However, the physiological mechanisms underpinning plasticity within other brain regions, most importantly the ipsilateral M1, are not well understood. Here, we used concurrent two-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy to simultaneously quantify changes in neurochemicals within left and right M1s in healthy humans of both sexes in response to transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to left M1. We demonstrated a decrease in GABA in both the stimulated (left) and nonstimulated (right) M1 after anodal tDCS, whereas a decrease in GABA was only observed in nonstimulated M1 after cathodal stimulation. This GABA decrease in the nonstimulated M1 during cathodal tDCS was negatively correlated with microstructure of M1:M1 callosal fibers, as quantified by diffusion MRI, suggesting that structural features of these fibers may mediate GABA decrease in the unstimulated region. We found no significant changes in glutamate. Together, these findings shed light on the interactions between the two major network nodes underpinning motor plasticity, offering a potential framework from which to optimize future interventions to improve motor function after stroke.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | Modulating Regional Motor Cortical Excitability with Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Results in Neurochemical Changes in Bilateral Motor Cortices |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2853-17.2018 |
Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2853-17.2018 |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | Copyright © 2018 Bachtiar, Johnstone et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed. |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Clinical and Movement Neurosciences |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10076616 |
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