fMRI signal decreases in ipsilateral primary motor cortex during unilateral hand movements are related to duration and side of movement

Interactions between the primary motor cortices of each hemisphere during unilateral hand movements appear to be inhibitory, although there is evidence that the strengths of these interactions are asymmetrical. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the effects of motor task duration and hand used on unilateral movement-related BOLD signal increases and decreases in the hand region of primary motor cortex (M1) of each hemisphere in six right-handed volunteers. Significant task-related BOLD signal decreases were observed in ipsilateral M1 during single and brief bursts of unilateral movements for both hands. However, these negative-to-baseline responses were found to intensify with increasing movement duration in parallel with greater task-related increases in contralateral M1. Movement-related BOLD signal decreases in ipsilateral M1 were also stronger for the right, dominant hand than for the left hand in our right-handed subjects. These findings would be consistent with the existence of interhemispheric interactions between M1 of each hemisphere, whereby increased neuronal activation in M1 of one hemisphere induces reduced neuronal activity in M1 of the opposite hemisphere. The observation of a hemispheric asymmetry in inhibition between M1 of each hemisphere agrees well with previous neuroimaging and electrophysiological data. These findings are discussed in the context of current understanding of the physiological origins of negative-to-baseline BOLD responses.