The role of the corpus callosum in regulating voluntary and involuntary unimanual movement in multiple sclerosis
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1
Monash University, School of Psychiatry and Psychology, Australia
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2
The Alfred Hospital, Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Australia
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3
Royal Melbourne Hospital, Department of Neurology, Australia
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4
Monash University, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Australia
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5
Victoria University, Institute of Sport, Exercise, and Active Living, Australia
The corpus callosum (CC) is commonly damaged in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Through the regulation of interhemispheric excitation and inhibition, a key role of the CC is the control of voluntary movement and suppression of involuntary movement. Therefore, we investigated the impact of CC pathology on voluntary and involuntary movement in MS. Twenty MS patients and 20 controls executed a unilateral force production task. Motor stability (voluntary movement) with one hand was measured in terms of the accuracy of force production. Motor overflow (force produced involuntarily) was simultaneously assessed in the opposite inactive hand. CC volume and lesion load were measured in MS patients using T2 weighted FLAIR MRI. The results revealed that while motor stability was poorer in MS patients, there were no group differences in motor overflow. However both motor stability and motor overflow correlated significantly with disease severity; poorer motor stability and greater motor overflow corresponded with increased disease severity. Contrary to predictions, CC pathology was associated with better motor stability; greater CC lesion load correlated with greater motor stability whilst greater volume in the CC body correlated with poorer motor stability. Motor overflow did not correlate with CC pathology. These results suggest that CC pathology may indirectly lead to better unimanual motor stability in MS. This may be due to compensatory changes in cortical activation in the sensorimotor cortex. Alternatively, in MS patients CC damage may prevent excess interhemispheric excitation which may interfere with motor control. The results also suggest that CC pathology may not directly lead to excess involuntary movement (motor overflow). A wide network of structures is likely involved in the production and suppression of overflow and damage to one of these structures may not be sufficient to lead to an excess of overflow. Given the prevalence of CC pathology in MS, characterising and sensitively measuring CC pathology is worthy of further investigation. This may aid in the development of sensitive outcome measures of CC pathology and identification of potential therapeutic targets of MS related motor symptoms.
Keywords:
Multiple Sclerosis,
motor overflow,
motor stability,
involuntary movement,
Corpus Callosum,
voluntary movement,
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Conference:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29 Nov - 2 Dec, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Motor
Citation:
Ternes
A,
Maller
JJ,
Fielding
J,
Addamo
P,
White
O and
Georgiou-Karistianis
N
(2012). The role of the corpus callosum in regulating voluntary and involuntary unimanual movement in multiple sclerosis.
Conference Abstract:
ACNS-2012 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Conference.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2012.208.00092
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Received:
03 Sep 2012;
Published Online:
07 Nov 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis, Monash University, School of Psychiatry and Psychology, Melbourne, 3800, Australia, Nellie.Georgiou-Karistianis@monash.edu