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Neurofunctional modulation of brain regions by distinct forms of motor cognition and movement features

  1. Martina Piefke1,2,3,*,
  2. Kira Kramer1,3,†,
  3. Mia Korte1,3,†,
  4. Martin Schulte-Rüther1,3,
  5. Jan M. Korte4,
  6. Afra M. Wohlschläger1,5,
  7. Jochen Weber6,
  8. Nadim J. Shah1,
  9. Walter Huber3,
  10. Gereon R. Fink1,7

Article first published online: 6 DEC 2007

DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20514

Issue

Human Brain Mapping

Human Brain Mapping

Volume 30, Issue 2, pages 432–451, February 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Piefke, M., Kramer, K., Korte, M., Schulte-Rüther, M., Korte, J. M., Wohlschläger, A. M., Weber, J., Shah, N. J., Huber, W. and Fink, G. R. (2009), Neurofunctional modulation of brain regions by distinct forms of motor cognition and movement features. Hum. Brain Mapp., 30: 432–451. doi: 10.1002/hbm.20514

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Medicine, Institute of Neuroscience and Biophysics, Research Center Jülich, Germany

  2. 2

    Department of Psychology and Sports Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Germany

  3. 3

    Section of Neurolinguistics Department of Neurology, University Hospital of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany

  4. 4

    Mathomedia, Cologne, Germany

  5. 5

    Departments of Neuroradiology, Neurology and Nuclear Medicine, Technische Universität München, Germany

  6. 6

    Center for Interdisciplinary Research, University Hospital of the Rheinisch-Westfälische-Technische Hochschule (RWTH), Aachen, Germany

  7. 7

    Department of Neurology, Cologne University Hospital, Cologne University, Germany

  1. †

    The changes of the names of Kira Weeller (now Kramer) and Mia Tegtmeyer (Korte) are due to their recent marriage.

*Physiological Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology and Sports Sciences, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany

  1. †

    The changes of the names of Kira Weeller (now Kramer) and Mia Tegtmeyer (Korte) are due to their recent marriage.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 19 JAN 2009
  2. Article first published online: 6 DEC 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 15 OCT 2007
  4. Manuscript Revised: 20 SEP 2007
  5. Manuscript Received: 7 FEB 2007

Funded by

  • Hans Lungwitz Foundation, Berlin
  • START program, RWTH, Aachen
  • Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (ICCR), RWTH, Aachen
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Grant Number: KFO 112

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Keywords:

  • fMRI;
  • extrastriate body area;
  • intraparietal cortex;
  • motor cognition;
  • inhibitory control;
  • mirror neurons

Abstract

Extrastriate, parietal, and frontal brain regions are differentially involved in distinct kinds of body movements and motor cognition. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying the observation and mental imagery of meaningful face and limb movements with or without objects. The supplementary motor area was differentially recruited by the mental imagery of movements while there were differential responses of the extrastriate body area (EBA) during the observation conditions. Contrary to most previous reports, the EBA responded to face movements, albeit to a lesser degree than to limb movements. The medial wall of the intraparietal sulcus and adjacent intraparietal cortex was selectively recruited by the processing of meaningful upper limb movements, irrespective of whether these were object-related or not. Besides reach and grasp movements, the intraparietal sulcus may thus be involved in limb gesture processing, that is, in an important aspect of human social communication. We conclude that subregions of a frontal–parietal network differentially interact during the cognitive processing of body movements according to the specific motor-related task at hand and the particular movement features involved. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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