Finger tapping, handedness and grey matter amount in the Rolando’s genu area
NeuroImage. 2005-05-01; 25(4): 1133-1145
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.12.062
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1. Neuroimage. 2005 May 1;25(4):1133-45.
Finger tapping, handedness and grey matter amount in the Rolando’s genu area.
Hervé PY(1), Mazoyer B, Crivello F, Perchey G, Tzourio-Mazoyer N.
Author information:
(1)Groupe d’Imagerie Neurofonctionnelle (GIN, UMR 6194, CNRS, CEA, Universités de
Caen and Paris 5) GIP Cyceron, Boulevard Henri Becquerel, BP 5229, 14074, Caen
Cedex, France.
The morphology of the central sulcus (CS), at the level of the hand primary motor
cortex, has been shown to be related to hand preference and skill. Differences in
the cerebral functional organisation of left and right-handers have been
described, notably with respect to hemispheric specialisation, which might cause
the neural substrate of hand dominance or skill to differ between the two groups.
Here, we further explored the relationship between the anatomical variability of
the central sulcus and hand skill in two groups of young male subjects differing
by handedness (n = 56 right-handers and n = 55 left-handers). Grey matter volume
(GMV) in the upper region of the central sulcus was estimated with Voxel Based
Morphometry, using a probabilistic region of interest approach, while hand motor
skill was measured with the finger tapping test. No significant anatomical
differences could be evidenced between the two hand preference groups, a
rightward hemispheric asymmetry being observed in both samples. However, multiple
regression analyses showed that, in the right-handed group, the maximum tapping
rate of the right hand correlated positively with the left central sulcus GMV,
but negatively with the right. Similar analyses showed that, in left-handers, the
maximum tapping rate of the non-dominant right hand was strongly correlated with
the GMV of the ipsilateral CS but not significantly with that of the
contralateral CS. These results may be due to differences in the organisation of
motor systems between these two groups, possibly concerning a left hemispheric
specialisation for fast repetitive movements in right-handers, which would be
different in left-handers.
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.12.062
PMID: 15850731 [Indexed for MEDLINE]