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Role of Ipsilateral Motor Cortex in Executing Movements With Increasing Demand on Precision

NCT01726218 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2018-10-15

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

It is well known that the motor area of one hemisphere of the brain (motor cortex) controls the movement of the opposite of the body. However, it is not clear whether as the movement becomes more complicated, the motor cortex of both hemispheres of the brain are involved. Currently the role of the motor cortex on the same side of the body (referred to as ipsilateral motor cortex) in hand performance remains controversial. The investigators demonstrated previously in healthy subjects that transiently lowering the activity of ipsilateral motor cortex improved the performance of the opposite hand. What is not know are the mechanisms involved in these changes of behavior. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a device that allows the non- invasive stimulation of the brain. When brain is stimulated repetitively at a very low rate and low intensity for about 15 minutes, the stimulated brain area becomes less active. This effect lasts 10 minutes and is called a "transient artificial lesion" as it mimicks the effects of transiently interfering with the function of the stimulated brain area. In the present study the investigators will conduct experiments using repetitive TMS to downregulate the activity of the motor area as in previous experiments and measures its effect on activity of motor cortex of both hemispheres. The investigators will study healthy subjects. It would be important to understand the effects in more detail for the design of treatment strategies in patients after stroke, which will be a topic of future studies.

Conditions

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)

    collaborator NIH

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

    collaborator NIH

  • Cathrin Buetefisch

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Cathrin Buetefisch, MD, PhD · Emory University

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
80 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2011-05-31
Primary Completion
2015-03-26
Completion
2015-03-26

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01726218 on ClinicalTrials.gov