[Dynamics of Brain Activity during Voluntary Movement: fMRI Study].

The use of event-related fMRI makes it possible to investigate spatio-temporal dynamics of cortical and subcortical human brain structures activity during voluntary movement performance in response to presentation of relevant verbal stimuli. The results of the study showed that voluntary movement was associated with higher contralateral brain activation in a number of areas: primary motor and somatosensory cortex, premotor cortex, supplementary motor area and insula with adjacent regions. Ipsilateral activation of the cerebellum also was observed. It should be emphasized that contralateral strio-pallidal complex and ventral thalamus showed significant response to motor tasks. Similarly, the dynamics of cortex and deep brain structures activation involving in the phasic and tonic components of voluntary movement was uncovered. We showed, in particular, the noticeable difference in brain activation between the right and left hand movement performance. The obtained results enable to enhance understanding of the role of deep brain structures in voluntary movement organization in human and motor control system as a whole.

[Typical Patterns of Neuronal Activity in Relay and Nonspecific Thalamic Nuclei in Patients with Spasmodic Torticollis].

Neuronal activity of 50 neurons in nonspecific (Rt, MD) and relay (Voi, Voa) thalamic nuclei was analyzed. Data were obtained by microelectrode technique during 14 stereotactic operations in patients with spasmodic torticollis. Application of Poincare maps and Gap-statistics allowed to reveal 3 main patterns of neuronal activity: irregular single spikes, low-threshold Ca(2+)-dependent rhythmic (3-5 Hz) bursts and combination of bursts and single spikes. In some cases, grouping (in Voi and Rt nuclei) and long burst (in Voa nucleus) patterns were observed. Grouping pattern consist of low-density groups of spikes with tendency to periodicity in range 1-1.5 Hz. Long burst pattern consist of long dense groups of spikes with random length and invariant interburst intervals. Main numerical estimations of 3 most spread patterns of neuronal activity were obtained by parametric analysis. In results, investigated thalamic nuclei significantly distinguished from each other by characteristics of burst activity but average firing rate of these nuclei hadn't significant differences. These data may be useful for functional identification of thalamic nuclei during stereotactic neurosurgery operation in patients with movement disorders.