Asymmetry of Interhemispheric Connectivity during Rapid Movements of Right and Left Hands: A TMS-EEG Study

J Mot Behav. 2022;54(2):135-145. doi: 10.1080/00222895.2021.1930993. Epub 2021 Jun 28.

Abstract

The interhemispheric signal propagation (ISP) obtained by electroencephalography during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) allows for the assessment of the interhemispheric connectivity involved in inhibitory processes. To investigate the functional asymmetry of hemispheres during rapid movement, we compared ISP in the left and right hemispheres during rapid hand movements. In 11 healthy right-handed adults, we delivered TMS to the M1 and recorded ISP from the M1 to the contralateral hemisphere. We found that ISP from the left to right hemisphere during right-hand rapid movement was higher than ISP from the right to left hemisphere during the left-hand rapid movement. These results indicate that the left M1 strongly inhibits the right M1, and that the left hemisphere is dominant for rapid movements as well as sequential movements.

Keywords: electroencephalography; interhemispheric signal propagation; laterality; motor dominance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Electroencephalography
  • Evoked Potentials, Motor / physiology
  • Functional Laterality / physiology
  • Hand / physiology
  • Humans
  • Motor Cortex* / physiology
  • Movement / physiology
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation* / methods