Brain control of precision grip during wrist movements in adults and children

目前的工作旨在进一步了解人类大脑的主导过程是怎样的，更准确地说，在一个复杂的运动中，不同的关节肌肉是如何协调的。在大脑运动结构中，连接性受到质疑，发育方面得到解决。这对于拓宽我们对成人损伤或学龄儿童早产史后脑回路功能适应（可塑性）潜力的认识具有重要意义。然而，在处理生理病理机制之前，迫切需要进一步了解大脑如何控制健康人的手部运动。因此，在健康成人和足月出生的健康学龄儿童中，研究了精确握力和手腕运动之间关节间肌肉协同作用控制的基本机制。将使用经颅磁刺激（TMS）的标准化范式（单脉冲、双脉冲和重复TMS）来检测可能参与关节间协调的大脑结构之间的联系。研究结果可能会对神经康复产生潜在影响，以制定新的脑功能治疗指南，从而促进中风患者和患有运动协调障碍的早产儿的手部功能训练。

The present work aims at understanding further how the dominant process of human brain is like and more precisely, how coordination of different joint muscles is tuned during a complex movement. Within brain motor structures connectivity is questioned and the developmental aspect is addressed. This is of major importance to broaden our knowledge of the potential of brain circuits for functional adaptation (plasticity) following a lesion in adults or due to a preterm birth history in school-aged children. However, before dealing with mechanisms of physiopathology, there is a dire need to further understand how brain controls hand movements in healthy people. The basic mechanisms underlying the control of an interjoint muscle synergy between precision grip and wrist movements are thus investigated in healthy adults and healthy school-aged children born full-term. Standardized paradigms of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) will be used (single, paired-pulse and repetitive TMS) to detect the connections between the brain structures potentially involved in the interjoint coordination. Results may have a potential impact in neuro-rehabilitation to develop new therapeutic guidelines owing to brain functioning and thus promote training of hand function in patients with stroke and in preterm children living with motor coordination disorders.