Functional brain areas associated with chopstick manipulation : a PET study

使用正电子发射断层扫描（PET）和健康的人类受试者（N = 9），我们调查了大脑区域参与对象操作与使用的工具，由专家。实验任务要求受试者用筷子从桌子上拿起一个小别针，运输，然后把它放进篮子里。还获得了仅使用手指执行相同任务的数据。与手指伸展相比，筷子伸展与腹侧前运动区（PMv）的尾侧和嘴侧部分、上级顶叶区、顶叶内、颞中回（MTG）、初级感觉区、枕区和小脑（包括齿状核的外侧和前半球）的显著更高的活动相关。因此，这些皮层和皮层下区域可以在人类中形成一个学习良好的工具使用相关神经网络。尾侧PMV和左半球的上级顶叶皮层的激活支持了这一假设，即顶叶-额叶回路是为使用手持工具进行操纵控制而开发的。左MTG的激活进一步支持了工具使用需要代表工具和相关动作的知识的概念。右侧上级顶叶皮层也被激活，表明顶叶对该回路的贡献可能是双侧的。小脑半球的激活似乎支持存储工具的内部模型的想法，而小脑前部的激活表明在使用筷子时增加了运动错误纠正。

Using positron emission tomography (PET) and healthy human subjects (N = 9), we investigated the brain areas involved in object manipulation with the use of a tool by experts. The experimental task required the subjects to use a pair of chopsticks for picking up a small pin from a table, transporting, and then releasing it into a basket. Data of the same task performed using only the fingers were also obtained. Chopstick prehension was associated with significantly higher activities in the caudal and rostra] portions of the ventral premotor (PMv) area, superior parietal area, intraparietal lobe, middle temporal gyrus (MTG), primary sensory area, occipital area, and cerebellum (lateral and anterior hemispheres including the dentate nucleus) as compared to finger prehension. These cortical and subcortical areas can thus form a well-learned tool-use associated neural network in humans. Activation of the caudal PMv and superior parietal cortex in the left hemisphere supported the hypothesis that the parieto-frontal circuit developed for manipulation control using a hand-held tool. Activation of the left MTG further supported the notion that a tool-use required representing knowledge of the tool and associated actions. The right superior parietal cortex was also activated during chopstick use, indicating that the parietal contribution to this circuit could be bilateral. Activation of the cerebellar hemisphere appeared to support the idea of stored internal models for a tool, while the activation of the anterior cerebellum suggested increased movement error correction during the use of chopsticks.