Diving into the depth of primary motor cortex: a high-resolution investigation of the motor system using 7Tesla fMRI

Dissertação para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia BiomédicaHuman behaviour is grounded in our ability to perform complex tasks. While human motor function has been studied for over a century the cortical processes underlying motor behaviour are still under debate. Central to the execution of action is the primary motor cortex (M1), which has previously been considered to be responsible for the execution of movements planned in the premotor cortex, yet recent studies point to more complex roles for M1 in orchestrating motor-related information. The purpose of this project is to study the functional properties of primary motor cortex using ultra-high fMRI. The spatial resolution made possible by using a high field magnet allows us to investigate novel questions such as the existence of cortical columns, the functional organization pattern for single fingers and functional involvement of M1 in motor imagery and observation. Thirteen young healthy subjects participated in this study. Functional and anatomical high resolution images were acquired. Four functional scans were acquired for the different tasks: motor execution; motor imagery; movement observation and rest. The paradigm used was a randomized finger tapping. The images analysis was performed with the Brainvoyager QX program. Using the novel high resolution cortical grid sampling analysis tools, different cortical laminas of human M1 were examined. Our results reveal a distributed pattern (intermingled with somatotopic “hot spots”) for single fingers activity in M1. Furthermore we show novel evidence of columnar structures in M1 and show that non motor tasks such as motor imagery and action observation also activate this region. We conclude that the primary motor cortex has much more un-expected complex roles regarding the processing of movement related information, not only due to their involvement in tasks that do not imply muscle movement, but also due to their intriguing organization pattern