Role of sensory deficits in motor impairments after injury to primary motor cortex

After a focal ischemic lesion in the hand representation of the primary motor cortex in squirrel monkeys, manual skill was mildly and transiently impaired on a reach-and-retrieval task. Performance was significantly poorer during weeks 1 and 3 post-lesion, but was normal by week 4. An unusual behavi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuropharmacology 2000-04, Vol.39 (5), p.733-742
Main Authors: Nudo, Randolph J, Friel, Kathleen M, Delia, Steven W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Arm - physiopathology
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Brain Ischemia - physiopathology
Brain Mapping
Cerebral Infarction - physiopathology
Female
Hand
Hand - physiopathology
Learning - physiology
Male
Motor cortex
Motor Cortex - physiopathology
Primates
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Recovery of Function - physiology
Saimiri
Saimiri sciureus
Sensation Disorders - physiopathology
Sensory discrimination
Stroke
Touch - physiology
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Summary:After a focal ischemic lesion in the hand representation of the primary motor cortex in squirrel monkeys, manual skill was mildly and transiently impaired on a reach-and-retrieval task. Performance was significantly poorer during weeks 1 and 3 post-lesion, but was normal by week 4. An unusual behavioral event was also observed after the lesion. Monkeys reached for pellets, but visually inspected the hand for the presence of the pellets, even when none were actually retrieved. This behavior, possibly indicative of a sensory deficit, was rarely observed prior to the lesion, but was observed at significantly higher levels during week one post-lesion. These results suggest that the primary motor cortex plays a significant role in somatosensory processing during the execution of motor tasks. Motor deficits heretofore identified as purely motor, may be at least partially due to a sensory deficit, or sensory-motor disconnection.
ISSN:0028-3908
1873-7064
DOI:10.1016/S0028-3908(99)00254-3