ABSTRACT

Objective : We investigate the differences of the cortical activation according to walnut rolling, wooden-ball rolling, and hand grasp-release movements.Methods : Twelve normal volunteer without history of neurological dysfunction were recruited. All subjects were scanned during each of motor task in 1.5T MRI equipment. We compared the differences of cortical activation according to the motor tasks using group analysis.Results : Cortical regions related to hand movement were activated, such as primary sensoriomotor area, premotor area, and supplementary motor area in all motor tasks. The order of total activation degree in the regions of interests was walnut rolling, wooden-ball rolling, and hand grasp-release movements.Conclusion :These findings revealed that walnut rolling provided plentiful sensory stimulation and had various motor cortical areas to be activated owing to complex and skillful in-hand manipulation. Therefore, it seems that the wallnut rolling task have the effect that activates the cortical areas related to sensori-motor function of hand.