Abstract
Paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was used in three experiments to measure the properties of long-latency intracortical inhibition (LICI) acting on the relaxed first dorsal interosseus muscle of the left and right hand in right-handed volunteers. The experiments show that LICI is asymmetrical: it emerges more rapidly and is greater in the dominant than non-dominant hand shortly after activation of the LICI circuits, and is greater with low-intensity conditioning stimulus intensities in the dominant than non-dominant hand. These findings suggest that asymmetrical function of long-latency inhibitory circuits in motor cortex might contribute to the asymmetrical dexterity between the hands, possibly through their inhibitory control of the circuits responsible for short-latency inhibition.
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Hammond, G.R., Garvey, CA. Asymmetries of long-latency intracortical inhibition in motor cortex and handedness. Exp Brain Res 172, 449–453 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0349-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0349-2