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Role of brain hemispheric dominance in anticipatory postural control strategies

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Abstract

Most of the cerebral functions are asymmetrically represented in the two hemispheres. Moreover, dexterity and coordination of the distal segment of the dominant limbs depend on cortico-motor lateralization. In this study, we investigated whether postural control may be also considered a lateralized hemispheric brain function. To this aim, 15 young subjects were tested in standing position by measuring center of pressure (COP) shifts along the anteroposterior axis (COP-Y) during dynamic posturography before and after continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) intervention applied to the dominant or non-dominant M1 hand area as well as to the vertex. We show that when subjects were expecting a forward platform translation, the COP-Y was positioned significantly backward or forward after dominant or non-dominant M1 stimulation, respectively. We postulate that cTBS applied on M1 may have disrupted the functional connectivity between intra- and interhemispheric areas implicated in the anticipatory control of postural stability. This study suggests a functional asymmetry between the two homologous primary motor areas, with the dominant hemisphere playing a critical role in the selection of the appropriate postural control strategy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.O.P. Professioni della Riabilitazione, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy

    David Cioncoloni

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Università di Siena, Siena, Italy

    Deborah Rosignoli, Marco Bonifazi & Alessandro Rossi

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche, Chirurgiche e Neuroscienze, Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab. (Si-BIN Lab), University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Matteo Feurra & Simone Rossi

  4. School of Psychology, Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Matteo Feurra

  5. Neurologia e Neurofisiologia Clinica, Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche e Neurosensoriali, Azienda Ospedaliera, Universitaria Senese, Siena, Italy

    Riccardo Mazzocchio

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  1. David Cioncoloni
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  2. Deborah Rosignoli
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Correspondence to David Cioncoloni.

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Cioncoloni, D., Rosignoli, D., Feurra, M. et al. Role of brain hemispheric dominance in anticipatory postural control strategies. Exp Brain Res 234, 1997–2005 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4603-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4603-y

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