Summary
Electrical activities of the motor and somatosensory cortices preceding visually-initiated hand movements were recorded with electrodes chronically implanted on the surface and at 2.5–3.0 mm depth in the cortex of monkeys, and changes in field potentials in these cortices after cerebellar hemispherectomy were observed for many weeks. As previously reported, a unilateral cerebellar hemispherectomy including the lateral and interpositus nuclei eliminates the cerebellar-mediated superficial thalamo-cortical (T-C) responses recorded in the forelimb motor cortex contralateral to the hemispherectomy. These T-C responses normally precede the hand movement, and the operation results in the delay of movement initiation. The electrodes in the forelimb area of the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex showed an enhancement of superficial T-C responses of the somatosensory cortex for 30–40 days after the operation. The enhanced potentials preceded the delayed movement as do the cerebellar-mediated superficial T-C responses of the motor cortex in normal situations. Local cooling of the somatosensory cortex following the cerebellar hemispherectomy disturbed the reaction time movement for a few weeks after the operation. This effect was rarely encountered in normal monkeys. The present study suggests the compensatory motor function of the somatosensory cortex for the dysfunction of the motor cortex in early weeks after cerebellar hemispherectomy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aring CD, Fulton JF (1936) Relation of the cerebrum to the cerebellum. II. Cerebellar tremor in the monkey and its absence after removal of principal excitable areas of the cerebral cortex (areas 4 and 6a, upper part). III. Accentuation of cerebellar tremor following lesions of the premotor area (area 6a, upper part). Arch Neurol Psychiat 35: 439–466
Brodmann K (1909) Vergleichende Lokalisationslehre der Großhirnrinde in ihren Prinzipien dargestellt auf Grund des Zellenbaues. Barth, Leipzig
Brooks VB (1983) Study of brain function of local, reversible cooling. Rev Physiol Biochem Pharmacol 95: 1–109
Brooks VB, Thach WT (1981) Cerebellar control of posture and movement. In: Brooks VB (ed) Handbook of physiology, the nervous system II. Am Physiol Soc, Bethesda, pp 877–956
Coulter JD, Jones EG (1977) Differential distribution of cortico-spinal projections from individual cytoarchitectonic fields in the monkey. Brain Res 129: 335–340
Evarts EV (1974) Precentral and postcentral cortical activity in association with visually triggered movement. J Neurophysiol 37: 373–381
Fromm C, Evarts EV (1982) Pyramidal tract neurons in somatosensory cortex: central and peripheral inputs during voluntary movement. Brain Res 238: 186–191
Gemba H, Hashimoto S, Sasaki K (1981) Cortical field potentials preceding visually initiated hand movement in the monkey. Exp Brain Res 42: 435–441
Gemba H, Sasaki K (1984) Distribution of potentials preceding visually initiated and self-paced hand movements in various cortical areas of the monkey. Brain Res (in press)
Holmes G (1917) The symptoms of acute cerebellar injuries due to gunshot injuries. Brain 40: 461–535
Jones EG, Wise SP (1977) Size, laminar and columnar distribution of efferent cells in the sensory-motor cortex of monkeys. J Comp Neurol 175: 391–438
Kuypers HGJM (1960) Central cortical projections to motor and somatosensory cell groups. Brain 93: 161–184
Lamarre Y, Bioulac B, Jack B (1978) Activity of precentral neurones in consious monkeys: Effects of deafferentation and cerebellar ablation. J Physiol (Paris) 74: 253–264
Meyer-Lohmann J, Hore J, Brooks VB (1977) Cerebellar participation in generation of prompt arm movements. J Neurophysiol 40: 1038–1050
Murray EA, Coulter JD (1981) Organization of corticospinal neurons in the monkey. J Comp Neurol 195: 339–365
Russel WR, DeMyer W (1961) The quantitative cortical origin of pyramidal axons of Macaca Rhesus, with some remarks on the slow rate axolysis. Neurology 11: 96–108
Sasaki K, Gemba H (1982) Development and change of cortical field potentials during learning processes of visually initiated hand movements in the monkey. Exp Brain Res 48: 429–437
Sasaki K, Gemba H (1983) Learning of fast and stable hand movement and cerebro-cerebellar interactions in the monkey. Brain Res 277: 41–46
Sasaki K, Gemba H (1984) Compensatory motor function of the somatosensory cortex for the motor cortex temporarily impaired by cooling in the monkey. Exp Brain Res 55: 60–68
Sasaki K, Gemba H, Mizuno N (1982) Cortical field potentials preceding visually initiated hand movements and cerebellar actions in the monkey. Exp Brain Res 46: 29–36
Woolsey CN (1958) Organization of somatic sensory and motor areas of the cerebral cortex. In: Harlow HF, Woolsey CN (eds) Biological and biochemical bases of behavior. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, W. pp 63–81
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sasaki, K., Gemba, H. Compensatory motor function of the somatosensory cortex for dysfunction of the motor cortex following cerebellar hemispherectomy in the monkey. Exp Brain Res 56, 532–538 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237994
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237994