Abstract
[Purpose] After stroke with dominant hand paralysis, patients practice chopstick movements with the non-dominant hand. The aim of this study was to investigate neural activities of chopstick movements, imaging and imitations with the non-dominant hand by functional MRI. [Subjects] The subjects were 5 right-handed healthy adults (mean age, 20.7 yrs) with no significant medical history or current medical problems. [Methods] We compared neural activities in the brain by 3.0T functional MRI during a chopsticks task performance, imaging and imitations. [Results] The chopsticks task activated the bilateral sensoriomotor cortex (SMC) and supplementary motor area, cerebellum, inferior parietal lobule, basal ganglia and right Brodmann area 44. The imaging task activated similar parts, but not the left SMC and cerebellum. The imitation task activated bilateral SMC, SMA, inferior/superior parietal lobule and Brodmann area 44. [Conclusion] The motor image and imitation task both induced activities in the areas stimulated when performing the actual task. We conclude that rehabilitation exercises should include motor imaging and imitation of chopsticks movement.
