Regional cerebral blood flow changes of cortical motor areas and prefrontal areas in humans related to ipsilateral and contralateral hand movement

The regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in ten normal right-handed volunteers with the purpose of comparing rCBF changes related to movements of the dominant (right) and non-dominant (left) hand. The hand movement task consisted of sequential opposition of the thumb to each finger. The rCBF measured was compared with a rest state. Movements of the dominant hand and the non-dominant hand, increased CBF significantly in the contralateral motor area (MA) and the premotor area (PMA) with small increases in rCBF in the supplementary motor area (SMA). However, movements of the non-dominant hand also elicited significant ipsilateral increases in rCBF in the MA and PMA (6.3% and 5.0%, respectively). Superior part of the prefrontal area (PFA) of the left hemisphere showed significant CBF increases to both left and right hand movement. Our findings indicate that rCBF changes in the motor areas and the PFA of one hemisphere are not related simply to movement of the contralateral hand. Non-dominant hand movement may in addition require activation of ipsilateral motor areas. That is, there appears to be functional asymmetry in the MA and PFA in humans even in this relatively simple and symmetric motor task.