Lecture 14/15/16: Corpus Callosum and Apraxia Flashcards

1
Q

What is the corspus callosum and what is its function?

A

Large white matter bundle (a lot of axons that start from 1 hemisphere and go to the other hemisphere), over 200 millions axons. Bilateral connectivity!

Function:
→ Transfer and integration of information between the two hemispheres.
→ between homologous brain regions.
→ Interhemispheric communication (send information from one hemisphere to another)

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2
Q

Other commisural fibres

A

Corpus callosum (biggest one)
Anterior commissure
Posterior commissure
Hippocampus commissure
These 3 are not as useful for interhemispheric communication.

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3
Q

What are the different techniques you can use to see the corpus callosum?

A
  1. Structural MRI
  2. Diffusion MRI: Corpus callosum is uniformly red in diffusion imaging (CC is white matter tract)

The CC is almost the only thing attaching the two hemispheres.

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4
Q

What are the different ways to study the corpus callosum?

A

The corpus callosum can be divided into subsections and each subsection connects specific homologous areas of the brain. This parcellation is usually referred to as the Witelson Parcellation (7 regions).

In order to study the different sections and what their role is, they parcellated the CC into the 7 sections. Mathematical separation, not based on function or cytoarchitecture.

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5
Q

How did they go about the division of the corpus callosum?

A

Parcellation
- This parcellation and association between each part of the CC and what brain areas they connect comes from experimental work with monkeys (ablation/sectioning and tracing).
- And clinical work with humans (study patients with lesions in the CC and see where their deficits are)
- These callosal regions may be associated roughly with various cortical regions, although there is considerable overlap” Witelson
- Separated in half and then first third, last third, first fifth and last fifth. Gradual passing from one section to the next.

Diffusion imaging
Put a seed or region of interest in one section of the corpus skeleton, you can see with diffusion imaging where those fibres go roughly.

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6
Q

What is the function of each part of the corpus callosum, what parts of the brain do they connect??

A

Genu: connects the very anterior part of the frontal lobe and orbitofrontal areas
Rostral body: Connects premotor areas and also go on top of the supplementary motor areas.
Anterior mid body: connects sensori-motor areas (around the central sulcus)
Posterior midbody: connects the more anterior parietal areas
Isthmus: connects posterior parietal areas
Splenium: connects the occipital areas of the brain and they go to some parts of the anterior temporal lobe.

Parcellated the CC into 25 equal sections to be able to see how gradual connectivity was. It is not complete one to one mapping with the Witelson Parcellated area and the region they connect.

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7
Q

How do the results from the tracing in monkeys compare to the results with the diffusion imaging in humans?

A

Study that related diffusion imaging in human results with the little table from tracing studies in the monkeys and the correspondence is very similar. The diffusion imaging studies support what is found with the monkey tracing research.

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8
Q

What is the microstructure in the CC??

A

-Microstructural organization of axons vary along the CC (axon properties will vary from one area to another).
Things that can vary: circumference of the axon (size), myelination and density of the axons in one space) . These will all affect the transmission of the information from one region to another.
Bigger axons, more myelinated or just more axons will make the transfer faster between one area to another. Measure the speed of info transfer between the 2 hemispheres.
- Properties such as fiber density and axon diameter affect the conduction of information.
- It is possible to measure the speed of information transfer by the CC.

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9
Q

Visual field and CC

A

If you present something quickly in the left visual field, it will I only be perceive by the right visual cortex. If your corpus callosum is intact, the information will be transferred right away.

MEG/ EEG very goof for temporal resolution. Could see that the right hemisphere receives the info a little bit before the left hemisphere.

FMRI: Temporal imaging is not so good. You cannot se the CC.

The crossing that happens from the motor cortex to the hand. If you want to use the left hand, the right motor cortex controls the left hand.

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10
Q

Poffenberger Paradigm

A

1912
- Measures InterHemispheric transfer time (IHTT)

Used light projection and varied whether it was flashed in the right or left visual field and also varied the instruction to the participants (use right hand, use left hand). Experiment to understand the crossing between the motor and visual areas of the CC to measure the interhemispheric transfer time. Light flashes very fast to make sure that it is perceived first by one visual hemifield. Participant click a button every time they see a square

Question: Where does the transfer occur in the corpus callosum?
at the visual level (dotted line)
at the motor level (full line)

To answer:
1) Manipulate motor and visual aspects in turn and see which affects the transfer time (placed it further or closer in the visual fied, darker or lighter).
2) Localised CC lesions –> the fastest way for neuronal transfeer of infor was from occipital to motor and then between the homologous motor areas.

Answer –> transfer is faster at the motor level.

Crossed trials are slower!! by a few milliseconds

if i use right hand and the light is in the right visual fied –> info can stay in one hemisphere to produce a task. Flashed in right visual field, left occipital areas receive info, sent to left motor areas to control right hand.

If stimulus in left visual field –> right occipital areas receive info, right hand to click in response the info needs to cross to other hemisphere.

Left visual fied and need to press with left: no crossing necessary.

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11
Q

Why is the corpus callosum useful??

A

Two hemispheres working together
* Motor coordination - if you want to move at the same time or in a sequence.
* Language (LH is dominant)
- Pragmatic (use of language in social circumstances)
- Understand non-literal expressions, affective prosody (intenations)
* Emotion processing
- Facial expression
- Regulation/managing emotions
- Verbal expression

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12
Q

Corpus callosum differences and
abnormalities

A

1) Normal variations in the population
- Sex: some subregions of the CC are larger in women
- Manual preference: CC larger in left handed individuals
2) Acquired abnormalities
- Callosotomies (surgical sectioning of the callosoomy)
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Strokes…
3) Developmental abnormalities
- Corpus callosum agenesis (baby born without orwith part missing)
- Variations in developmental disorders: the example of autism

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13
Q

History of corpus callosum

A
  • As early as in the 19th century, Wernicke, Dejerine and others were aware that interhemispheric communication was essential for high-order cerebral functions.
  • Later, Split-brain experiments on animals and human patients with section of the CC (cats, monkeys)
  • Geschwind, 1965: ‘Disconnection syndrome in animals and man’ based on lesion studies
  • Sperry, Bogen and Gazzaniga, 1969: ‘Interhemispheric relationships. Syndromes of hemisphere disconnections
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14
Q

What is th split-brain?

A

The split brain is when you completely cut the corpus callosum. This allows you to study lateralization of function and what the patient is lacking when the two hemispheres are seperateed.

Roger Sperry (1959-1968)
* Studied the functional specialisation of each hemisphere
* Surgery to cut the corpus callosum in some epileptic patients
* First observation: no apparent cognitive damage! Almost normal
* But… when designing the right experiments, were able find specific deficits and learn about hemispheric specialisation.

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15
Q

Roger Sperry’s Split Brain Experiment

A

Mainly cats and monkeys
* The main discovery → when you cut the connections between the two brain hemispheres: each hemisphere functions independently as if each was a complete brain (as if the animal has two seperate brains).
* Train one side of the brain: the other side of the brain doesn’t know anything about it. The two hemispheres were working in isolation
* Divide the optic chiasm so the visual information is only presented to one hemisphere

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16
Q

Explain Myers and Sperry’s experiment

A

→If you cut the CC and the optic chiasm
* Only the information from one eye is transmitted to one hemisphere (right visual fied gives info to right hemisphere)
* Blindfold the other eye
* Can teach a task to one hemisphere only
* Then move the patch to the other eye: no memory or effect of the learning from the other eye (no memory of the task because the this brain hemisphere didnt see anything that was happening)
* Compared to control cats (blindfold technique): learning is transferred to the other hemisphere

Results:
either CC or optic chiasm is sectioned = patch on first eye, learn which to pick to get the result and read 100% success. Move patch to the other eye and still have 100% success

both CC and optic chiasm sectioned = had to relearn it when patch was transferred.

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17
Q

Explain Sperry’s human case example 1

A

Visual stimulation –> force the information to be seen by one hemisphere only.
In humans, they do not have a section of the CC.
* The patient fixed his gaze on a central point on a board
* Lights are flashed in both the left and right visual hemi field
- Ask the patient: what did you see?
- Answer: ‘’light flashing in the right hemi field’’
* Flash lights in only the left hemifield
- Ask what did you see: they deny having seen any lights. The left hemistphere has to verbalize the answer, there was nothing in the right visual field.
- If you ask them to point where the lights were flashed instead of asking for a verbal answer, they point to the correct side. The information cannot be transfered to the left speaking hemisphere, but the patient can use the right motor cortex to select what theys see.
* Speech is in the left hemisphere!

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18
Q

Sperry human case - Example 2

A

Tactile stimulation/discrimination test
* Object in the right hand :
- able to name and describe the object

  • Object in the left hand:
    • not able to name or describe
    • able to match it to the same object in a collection of object presented visually.
    • would be able to tell that they are holding something.
    • Not crossing in the hemisphere
  • only some somatosensory ipsilateral crude input
    Ex: Presence/absence of stimulationThis proves that the right hemisphere does the perception, its just not able to do the language aspect of naming or describing. It can feel the object and choose a matching object in a collection of objects.
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19
Q

Explain Sperry’s human case example 3

A
  • A picture or written information is flashed in one hemifield
    OR
  • An object is placed out of view in one of the patient’s hand
    1) If presented to the left hemisphere (right visual hemifield or right hand):
    → Able to name and describe (verbally and in writing)
    2) If presented in left hand or left visual hemifield and asked to name it:
    → wrong guess
     Even when they have the object in their hand, still unable to name it (knowledge remains in the right hemisphere)
     But able to give a non-verbal answer (find the object with the left hand, identify the pencil by touch, or point)
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20
Q

Sperry and Gazzaniga experiment

A

In this experiment, they flashed two words or two pictures at the same time. So the patient sees both things at the same time. If they ask the patient to verbally answer what they saw:
* The left hemisphere can verbally say what is in the right visual field: ‘‘Apple’’
If they ask them to show you what they saw with the right hand they would point to the spoon:
Or show with the right hand (not the left hand). They can point at the spoon or chose the spoon.
This experiment showed that the 2 hemisphere worked independently at the same time and don’t have a clue of what the other hemisphere is doing.

  • If you present only the word in the left visual hemifield and ask what the word is they don’t know…They will say they didnt see anything.
    → The left hand can point or select the spoon,not the right hand
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21
Q

Dichotic listening task

A

Normal controls
* Present two different sounds simultaneously in each ear
* When you ask the subject to say what they heard, most frequently they report (verbally) what they heard in the right ear → dominance left hemisphere is dominantt for language so it will naturally report what is presented in the right ear.
If asked to attend specifically to what is presented
to the left ear (or present a sound only in the left ear), can do it
→ Selective auditory attention
Patients with section of the Corpus callosum
→ Deficits to name what is presented to the left ear. Very difficult for them to attend to what is presented in the left ear. Cannot switch their attention to it because the info is not crossing the corpus callosum

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22
Q

Sperry’s human case - Example 4

A

Patient sees a word that is flashed, hald of the word is in the right visual field and the other half is in the left visual field

Ask split brain patient What is the word? Give a verbal answer of what they saw.
-They answer: “art”

  • Ask the patient to point with the left hand–> Point with the left hand one of 2 cards HE or ART on it
    -They point the card with: “He”

Conclusion: both hemispheres simultaneously saw a
different portion of the word

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23
Q

Chimeric Face test

A

Chimeric face: two different faces mixed together.

Flash chimeric face with two half different faces in each hemifield.
→ If you ask the patient to verbally tell you what they saw, the person said that they saw the women (what the left hemisphere saw).
→ If you ask them to point to the face they saw with their left finger, they would point to the man (what the right hemisphere saw).
→ The one hemisphere completes a symmetrical face
so both hemispheres ‘‘think’’ they saw a full face.

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24
Q

Explain Gazzaniga’s concept of the left-hemisphere interpreter

A

Gazzaniga and the concept of the “left-hemisphere
interpreter”.
* Experiment:
- show two pictures at the same time, one in each hemifield (right visual field = chicken, left visual field = winter scene).
- patient has to point with his two hands at pictures of two objects corresponding
→ left hand is pointing at the card with a picture of
a snow shovel (right hemisphere saw snow scene)
→ right hand is pointing at the card with a picture
of a chicken (left hemisphere saw chicken)
- Ask the patient why his left hand is pointing at the shovel:
‘’you use a shovel to clean out the chicken shed’’
→ the left hemisphere who will produce the answer to this question did not see the winter scene. So the answer of a split brain patient would say is ‘’you use a shovel to clean out the chicken shed’’. Left hemisphere will try and make up a verbal story that matches what is happening.

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25
Q

Generating emotional reactions

A

The two hemisphere need to be working together for emotional reactions. If you want to verbalize an emotion and the emotion is processed by the right hemisphere and you don’t have have communication between the two hemispheres, it becomes very hard.

Experiment:
* Present a funny picture to the right hemisphere (in left visual field):
 Patient said she saw nothing when asked
 But they did smile and chuckle.
 When asked why you are laughing: ‘‘I don’t know, nothing….’’
→ the right hemisphere can’t describe what was seen but the emotional reaction is there .

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26
Q

What are the positive symptoms of being a split brain patient?

A

Some split-brain patients can:
* Draw different pictures with each hand simultaneously
* Do visual search tasks faster than controls
→ Experiments indicated that the separated hemispheres
were able to scan their respective hemifields independently

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27
Q

How do we know that the two hemispheres are working stimultaneously?

A

Working simultaneously
* Helping-hand phenomenon: the right hand that ‘knows’ the answer may try to correct the left hand.
* Cross-cuing: some language abilities in the right hemisphere, some language comprehension. The right hemisphere will try to correct the he answer if it knows the answer.
→Cross-cuing from one hemisphere to the other may also happen

In real life, thye are not forced to use one hand so they would just use the hand that knows the answer. In experimental settings, you will see that the hand that knows the answer will try to correct the other hand.

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28
Q

What experiment determined the cross-cuing.

A

Experiment
Simple: present a green or red flash to the right hemisphere (left visual field)
* The patient answers at chance level at first but improves when a second guess is allowed.
Why?
- If the answer guessed by chance (by the left ‘speaking’ hemisphere) is the good answer, the patient sticked to the answer
- If the answer is wrong: the right hemisphere hears the left hemisphere’s guess and cues the left hemisphere that it’s wrong by frowning or by a shake of the head (try to demonstrate non verbal cue from right hemisphere)

→ when the answer is said out loud, the right hemisphere (that saw the light) hears the answer and then is able to correct what the left hemisphere said.

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29
Q

Working simultaneously

A
  • Experiments in monkeys
  • Present something separately to each hemisphere (eye) at the same time
  • Each hemisphere memorizes a different scenario: each hemisphere can learn the two tasks.
     Left eye: learns that if press the button with the cross → food
     Right eye: learns that if press the button with the circle → food

→Learned those two associations in the same time it takes a normal monkey to learn one
→When CC sectioned: Evidence that each hemisphere acts as an only brain

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30
Q

Lateralisation of functions

A

These studies have helped us understand the brain specialization and lateralization of function.

  • Controlateral motor control (lateralized)
  • Left hemisphere: language and speech
  • Right hemisphere:
    - musicn (prosody)
    - spatial processing
    - visuo-motor tasks
    - emotional processing
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31
Q

The right hemisphere

A
  • Visual-constructional tasks: the right hemisphere is
    better
  • When asked to draw the example, even if the splitbrain patient is right-handed, better with the left hand because if they use their right hand it is the left hemisphere that controls the right hand. The left hemisphere is not good for spatial analysis and spatial construction.
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32
Q

Block design test

A

Right hemisphere
you need to reproduce either a 2D picture or 3D construction with blocks. It is really a spatial visual task. Segment the picture into squares that you see and visualy match the picture with tthe blocks.
* Spatial awareness
* Block Design task
* Better performance with the left hand because right hand is not as good because it is controlled by the left hemisphere.

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33
Q

What happens when Joe is showed a word on the left side?

A

Word flashes to left side and his right hemisphere sees nothing. He says that he cannot see anything. When asked to draw it (LH) he realizes that it was a phone, because he draws a phone and then his left hemisphere can see the drawing and say what it is.

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34
Q

The face hemisphere and Joe

A

The right hemisphere (left field): focusing on the face
The left hemisphere (right field): focusing on the fruits that make the face

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35
Q

The effect of age on he loss of CC?

A

Callosotomies done in younger individuals:
 Disconnection syndromes observed in split brain adults not observed. When you section the CC before the age of 12, you don’t see the disconnection syndrome.
 Some deficits at first (after the surgery) but they improve with time (especially when younger than 13)
 The immature brain has great potential of adaptation after surgeries:
→Plasticity leading to a cerebral reorganisation (form new connections)
 Some problems that persist, example: pragmatic language deficits – things that require more complex processing by the two hemispheres (higher cognitive processing).

36
Q

What is the alien hand syndrome?

A

Alien hand syndrome:
 The feeling that one of your hand is not yours and acts in an independent manner (on its own). Seems to be controlled by someone else.
 Involuntary motor activity of one hand, patients can try to control the alien hand with the other hand without success
→ because the homologous motor frontal regions are disconnected (the two motor hemispheres are not connected to each other).
 No proprioceptive feed back between the homologous parietal areas

37
Q

What is agenesis of the corpus callosum?

A

Developmental defects or problems in neuronal migration and the formation of the brain in utero that makes this brain abnormality.

Defect in neuronal migration Different effect based on when the defect occurs:
- before week 10: no AC and no CC
- between week 10 and 12: no CC (AgCC)
- between week 12 and 20: partial agenesis of the CC –> some part missing, usually the posterior part as it develops last.

  • What happens when you are born without a corpus callosum?
     Sometimes nothing!
     Split brain/disconnection syndrome not observed
     Precocious plasticity mechanisms
     Normal IQ in 2/3 of cases
    Different outcomes when it’s isolated versus associated with other malformations
38
Q

Development of commissural fibres (time, order of development).

A
  • The Anterior Commissure (develops first) develops around the 10th week of gestation
  • The Corpus Callosum develops in-utero starting around week 12 until 6th or 7th month
  • Rostro-caudal development (genu first) –> develops from anterior part of CC first and finishes by the more posterior part of the CC.
  • Myelinisation process continues after birth
    Corpus callosum to make and better and faster transfer of information.
39
Q

What deficits can come with the agenesis of the CC

A
  • Motor coordination
  • Emotional
  • Social
  • Pragmatic language etc… (use of social aspects of cognition)
    Hard to study because most patient with agenesis also have other issues so it is hard to isolate what deficits come from just agenesis

Possible adaptation mechanism
* Bilateral language functions (each hemisphere is able), but some Amytal sodium studies say it is not the case. Each hemisphere did not specialze –> both hemispheres can produce language/understand language.
* Residual commissures (rely more on their anterior commissure)
- Anterior commissure, sub-cortical commissures –> to communicate
- Posterior commisure can be rerouted to compensation especially to transfer visual information
- Ipsilateral tactile information
-normally eliminated in normal development (in these patients this happens less)
-each hemisphere has a bilateral representation

More bilateral representation of everything

40
Q

What causes agenesis?

A
  • Mostly genetically determined
  • spontaneous mutations during pregnancy
  • environmental factors.
41
Q

Explain the functional connectivity study by Mancuso

A
  • Resting state fMRI: Subjects with agenesis or early section of the CC. Did fMRI to see if brain activation correlated in each hemisphere.
  • Results: Some important reductions in interhemispheric connectivity (or synchronisation of brain activation)
  • But also surprising cases of intact connectivity between some brain areas (some individuals showed the coordinated brain activation showing that they did have communication between the 2 hemispheres)

The authors explain this by plasticity mechanisms and reorganisation allowing to develop sub-cortical networks (and anterior commissure connections). Due to the residual commissioners allowing for communication (slower performance).
→ Some white matter reorganisation allowing some interhemispheric communication but may not be enough for more complex functions
→ Why we observe deficits in higher-level functions

42
Q

The case of Kim Peek

A

Complex case
- Autism
- Low IQ
→ Agenesis of the corpus callosum (and other brain abnormalities)
- Incredible memory abilities (books, zip codes, maps)
- Was able to read the left and right page of a book simultaneously

43
Q

What are the common defecits of agenesis of the CC and autism

A
  • Motor, language (pragmatic language - non literal), emotional and social deficits are similar to characteristics of individuals on the autistic spectrum
  • One of the most consensual neuroanatomical characteristic observed in autism → volumetric (thinner) and microstructural reductions of the CC (reduction in the corpus callosum in autistic individuals). There is not a single thing a an autistic brain that you can see to identify they are autistic.
  • Between 10% and 30% of cases of Agenesis of the CC also have an autism spectrum disorder diagnostic or marked autistic traits
44
Q

Since the CC was the most interesting finding related with autism, they looked at anatomical connectivity and autism.

A
  • Corpus callosum: interhemispheric connectivity
  • reductions in volume
  • microstructural alterations (diffusion imaging)

Link between white matter alteration and function?
- processing speed of the brain
- motor deficits
- sensori-motor integration

→ Suggests altered interhemispheric communication

Autistic patients have a reduction of white matter with deficits general processing speed and motor deficits

45
Q

What are the objectives and results of the article

A

Relate corpus callosum structure (microstructure and volume): MRI → with function (interhemispheric transfer)?
* Measure corpus callosum in individuals with autism vs controls (measure the parts –> is it just smaller or is it specific to certain regions of the CC)
* Measure interhemispheric transfer time: visuo-motor task (Poffenberger – flash a little square in one hemifield and patient can answer with either hand)
* Measure bimanual coordination: Purdue pegboard test (put small peggs in small holes as fast as u can in 30 mins — two at the same time or where you need to make a sequence)

Results:
Size AUT<TYP frontal and parietal
only smaller in specific areas :
-the part connecting the right and left motor areas of the 2 hemisphere.
-the part connecting the two parietal areas

No behavioural differences:
No difference in terms of interhemispheric communication:
- IHTT (Poffenberger)
- bimanual coordination

46
Q

Structure-Function relationship

A

Correlations
-IHTT and bimanual coordination associated with different parts of the corpus callosum in each group.

In typical individuals the faster the intrahemispheric transfer time or the beter their bimanual coordination = the bigger their CC (specifically in the motor areas and parietal areas).

In autistic patients, the correlation between the behavioral measure was with the splenium

47
Q

Conclusion of Autism study

A

Despite structural reductions in the corpus callosum:
→Intact information transfer (behavioral measures)
Hypothesis: They compensate by recruiting the fibers of the posterior part of the CC
* Transfer at the visual level rather than at the motor level
* Consistent with the literature
* Occipital (visual) over activations
* Modified structure-function relationship associated with equal performance→reallocation→different neuronal trajectories (they recruit a different brain network that is different than typical individuals)

When autistic people do something, they use their occipital areas more than the typical population. They rely on their sensory processing more than on frontal areas. Ravens processing matrices (reasoning task that uses visual info, resolve a visual puzzle). Autistic individuals are as good as normal individuals at the task but they recruit their visual areas more (recruit different area).

48
Q

Where is the motor deficits if its not in terms of coordination?

A

Looking more closely at the motor tasks

  • AUTISTICS
    Slower for unimanual conditions (not bimanual conditions)
    →reaction time: execution speed, anticipation, preparation of movement
    → example: clicking a button, pegboard execution
    →difficulty with preparation and anticipation of movement and using visual information to guide their actions.
49
Q

Intra-hemispheric connectivity

A

Deficits in:
Using spatial representation and integration of visual information essential to plan and execute movements
* role of the parietal lobe: Visuomotor integration, directed actions, imitation, plan and control of actions. Using spatial and visual representation to guide action is probabaly more associated with the parietal lobe. Another very consistent finding in autism is a reduces parieto frontal connectivity. So,

The importance of visual integration in motor deficits.
→Agrees with: reduced intrahemispheric connectivity between frontal and parietal areas in autism
→A typical visual input and integration during a motor action have been related with atypical connectivity between parietal and motor areas.
→ the motor defecits in autistic individuals would be more because of intra hemispheric deficits in terms of communication

conclusion: autistic individuals have deficits in using tthe visual information to guide tthe motor action. Problem in guiding motor actions, so forming actions, not a problem with the motor cortex.

50
Q

What is apraxia?

A
  • The first to describe this syndrome was working under the famous Carl Wernicke:
    →Hugo Liepmann
  • A disorder of learned movement = problem in doing an action that you know or miming an action that someone does or doing a motor action that someone does
  • Problem in the organisation of actions
  • Difficulty with movement is not caused by paralysis, weakness, or incoordination of the muscles
  • Cannot be accounted for by sensory loss, comprehension deficits, or inattention to commands.
51
Q

Name the 4 different types of apraxia?

A

Ideational apraxia
* The loss of ability to conceptualize and plan a motor sequence action (sequencing your actions properly). Lost the order they need to do to perform a task.

Conceptual apraxia
* Alterations of semantic knowledge about functions and actions related to tools and objects. They lost the use of the object (try to write with a tootbrush).

Ideomotor apraxia
* Alteration in the transmission between the ideation and the motor gesture: the motor project not transmitted to the parts to make it. More about imitating an action or performing an action after a verbal command. (not as cruical for every day life)

Constructional apraxia
* Inability to understand spatial relationships to reproduce or accurately construct a representation

52
Q

Ideational and conceptual apraxia

A
  • When manipulation of tools is needed (difficulty sequencing their actions or using the tool for the correct purpose).
  • Affects both spontaneous and on command
    gestures
  • The basic gestures are ok but the meaning of it is incoherent
  • Patient seems like they don’t remember how to use of objects
  • Lost the meaning of how to use an object in their every day life.

Caused by lesions generally affecting the parietal temporal junction.

53
Q

Ideational Apraxia

A
  • Affects complex gestures, the more complex the sequence the harder. More evident the more steps the task has.
  • The components of the acts are there but not in the right order: the sequence of movement is lost
  • Lesions most often left (or bilateral) temporo-parieto-occipital junction or frontal: extensive / diffuse
  • Seen in people with degenerative disorders.

ex: know that they use it to comb their haird but is using it backwards.

54
Q

Conceptual apraxia

A
  • Deficits in conceptual action knowledge, semantic meaning
  • Using a tool incorrectly or not for its intended purpose (supposed to know what they are for but uou still mix their use, using the tool for the wrong use)
  • Lesions most often in left posterior
    parietal lobe and/or temporal parietal junction (most often in parietal)
    →Relevance of the inferior parietal lobe in processing the knowledge of what has to be done with a certain object or tool to achieve a goal
55
Q

Ideomotor apraxia

A
  • Difficult to imitate or act in response to a command
  • Deficits even in elementary gestures (ask them to touch their nose with their finger)
  • Difficult production of movements
  • Use of body part as object (brush their teeth with finger when gesturing)
  • But correct execution when needed in real life context
  • Can name, describe and understand the gesture the examiner is making but cannot
    reproduce it
  • Difficulties in the planning of the gesture while the mental conception is intact
  • Lesion disconnecting left auditory (or visual) from motor areas
  • Disconnecting wernicke area from motor cortex –> often will have conduction aphasia as well
  • Most often parietal lesion
  • lesions in very general parietal white matter disconnects both the visual areas and the wernicke area from the motor cortex
  • Other possible lesions sites, ex: corpus callosum→unilateral left hand apraxia (if the lesion is between the two motor cortex). The person only has an apraxic left hand.
56
Q

Geschwind’s explanation of the apraxias

A

Verbal command to Wernicke (left) then 2 possible trajectories:
1) From Wernicke to Left premotor region then CC to Right premotor then R precentral motor cortex – Left hand moves. (to control left and right hand?)
2) From Wernicke to corresponding ‘Wernicke’ in the Right hemisphere, then to R premotor to R motor region. (to contril just the left hand?)
* How do we know #2 is not the preferred way? Because damage to that area (posterior part) of the CC does not lead to apraxia (very rarely)
* But anterior CC lesion (wernicke area) yes, difficulties performing a motor gesture following a verbal command BUT, not when examiner mimes→no need for verbal comprehension as the patient can SEE
* Lesions in the dotted line (2nd picture) to the CC would cause left hand apraxia. BUT researched showed that a lesion to the solid line CC caused left hand apraxia demonstrating that the #1 pathways is the preferred way.

57
Q

Case #1: Damage to the Corpus Callosum

leands to apraxia

A
  • Lesion in CC, especially in the part of the CC connecting the bilateral motor areas.
  • Can carry commands with the right arm (only problems in LH), ex: show me how you comb your hair…
    - Comprehension intact
  • But with the left arm… incorrect (Left hand apraxia - everything is intact in left hemisphere but when it tries to go to right hemisphere (which controls the left hand) issues due to CC lesion).
  • Can do those tasks in normal life (ex: use tools, combs, etc) or imitate the gestures — it is just when given a command that they cannot do these.
  • Right motor area does not get the instructions from left motor area to perform the gesture.

However..
* Can do face movements if asked, like to blow a candle
* The face area of the motor cortex can control the cranial muscles on both sides of the face
* The left cortical face area does it

Controlled by tthe two hemispheress so its hard to just move one side of the face. The Left motor area controlling the mouth can control both sides of the mouth muscles.

58
Q

Case #2: damage to the left premotor region

A

Facial apraxia
* Lesion affecting the motor area and Broca (connectivity). Lesion in the left premotor area (ventral part of the motor cortex. (could alsonhave broca’s aphasia)
→Cannot carry out facial movements
* Information from the left Wernicke’s area cannot reach the left ventral premotor cortex (PMC) because it is destroyed
* The lesion also destroyed the origins of the callosal fibers connecting L premotor cortex from the Right PMC

59
Q

Case #2: Dmage to the left premotor region.

A

Sympatehic Apraxia: if the lesion is a little bit bigger and also involved other parts of the motor cortex.
* A type of ideomotor apraxia (of the left hand)
* Posterior language comprehension area is intact
* Lesion around the left frontal areas disconnecting the left posterior areas from the right premotor cortex so that “the instructions” for the left hand cannot reach the hand area of the right frontal lobe
* Right arm paralysed - because the motor area for the hand is essentially lesioned
* Left arm apraxic:
→Right motor cortex is intact so the Left arm can move but the right motor cortex does not receive the command from the Left motor cortex through the CC
→inability of the non pathologic hand to carry out commanded movements
* Left hemisphere dominance for skilled movement (in right handed)

60
Q

Case 3: lesion to Wernicke’s area

A
  • Patient fail to respond to verbal command (cannot do the gesture/ command)
    * Deficit in comprehension
    * Not apraxia
61
Q

Case 4: damage in the connections between Wernicke and the premotor area

A
  • Intrahemispheric
  • Also show conduction aphasia (affect the arcuate fasciculus, sentence repetition problems)
  • If lesion not near the precentral motor cortex: no paralysis
  • Following verbal commands: patient unable to carry movement with the right limbs or the left limbs because if the info does not reach the left motor area and cannot be transferred to the right by the CC
  • Also facial apraxia (auditory instructions do not reach the left motor cortex)
62
Q

Lesion around the left parietal area

A
  • Normal comprehension
  • Difficulty to execute verbal commands with
    both left and right limbs, or face
  • Can also have difficulties imitating

If the lesion is big enough, it can also affect the input from the occipital areas. This is why some patients can also have difficulties imitating.

If the lesion was more frontal, the person would have difficulties with.
Motor cortex lesion = difficulty imitaing or followinng verbal commands.

63
Q

Usually people who have ideamotor apraxia have intact axial movement in apraxia.

A

Limb apraxia but axial movement ok, ex: bow, kneel etc…
Explanation: the pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems
* Motor pathway from the precentral gyrus

64
Q

The descending tracts

A

Pyramidal tract
- Corticospinal tract
- Voluntary movement and control of the musculature of the opposite side of the body
- About 90% decussate (cross the midline of the body): control of limbs
→Lateral corticospinal tract
- About 10%: do not decussate at the pyramids, they
continue ipsilateral: control of trunk, neck etc. The ones that stay ipsilateral innervate the axial muscles. N →Anterior corticospinal tract
- Axial muscles also have an input from other cortical areas than the motor cortex→extrapyramidal tract

Command starts in right motor cortex, goes down to the medulla and then crosses
65
Q

What is axial control?

A
  • Movements of the body trunk involve both sides of the body.
  • The anterior (ventral) corticospinal tract:
  • Is responsible for controlling the muscles of the body trunk.
  • Is influencing both sides of the body to coordinate postural muscles in broad movements of the body.
  • These axons do not decussate in the medulla.
  • They remain in an anterior position as they descend the brain stem and enter the spinal cord.
  • Upon reaching the appropriate level in the spinal cord, the axons decussate and synapse with their corresponding lower motor neurons.
  • The lower motor neurons are located in the medial regions of the ventral horn, because they control the axial muscles of the trunk.
  • Coordinating axons that are often considered bilateral, as they are both ipsilateral and contralateral.They can control each side a little bit.
66
Q

Extrapyramidal System

A
  • Maintaining posture and regulating involuntary motor functions (more for involuntary control).
  • Posture, tone, gate (things that are more automatic)
  • Control of automatic modifications of tone and movements
  • Mostly from brain stem and sometimes the crebellum
  • Example of a lesion in lower parietal areas can prevent the information from reaching the pyramidal system: cannot carry limb movement
  • But commands for trunk motion can be performed
    Ex: to bow, which can be achieved by the non pyramidal system directly from Wernicke’s area and basal ganglia

In some way for those very simple commands, the brainstem and the more subcortical areas, can get input directly from Wernickes area or from motor control areas. This is why some kind of motor aspect of the command can still be performed.

67
Q

The tracts

A

all the other tracts make up the extrapyramidal system

68
Q

Ideomotor apraxia summary

A

Corpus callosum
* Lesion in anterior corpus callosum (lesions to the posterior part usually do not lead to ideomotor apraxia)
* Can carry verbal commands with right hand but will fail with the left hand
* Can imitate perfectly (disturbance as the result of disconnection of the speech area from the right motor area)

Left frontal
Lesion in Left motor association cortex which also disconnects it from the R motor region:
* Right hemiplegia and Broca’s aphasia
* Failure to carry out verbal commands with the intact left hand (LH is apraxic)
→Sympathetic apraxia
* No comprehension deficits

if the lesion is big enough to reach the hand area, other limbs will be affected.

Parietal
Lesion in Left arcuate:
* Failure to carry out correct motor commands with EITHER left or right limbs
* No elementary motor problem
* Normal comprehension
* both right and left limb apraxia

  • A parietal lesion around the arcuate fasciculus can also affect fibres from the visual cortex so both verbal command and imitation would be affected
  • Motor pathway is also mostly left lateralised (in right-handed) but some patient seem to make use of the right pathway and still be able to imitate
  • Some patients will be less affected at the motor level and more at the imitation level.
69
Q

Temporo-parieto-occipital junction

A
  • Extensive lesions
  • Semantic information
    →Ideational apraxia
       With larger lesions, bilateral and involving several regions, leads more to ideational and conceptual apreaxia.
70
Q

Dressing apraxia

A
  • Automatic, spontaneous capacity for dressing is lost
  • Dressing is complex:
    1) knowledge of body schema and ability to spatially orient a body part to an article of clothing (what to do with your body parts)
    2) bimanual motor coordination,
    3) three-dimensional conceptualization of an article of clothing that may have a completely amorphous appearance when not being worn (put the fabric of where it has to be put on).
  • Parietal right lesions: incapacity of effectuating the acts of dressing correctly, sequence, what to put where (visuospatial)…
  • Parietal left lesions: dressing apraxia appears to be more related to general deficits of planning of gestures with both limbs (planning motor gestures necessary to get dresseed).
  • Not the same as personal hemineglect!
71
Q

Apraxia of gait

A
  • Disorder of locomotion characterized by inability in lifting the feet from the floor despite alternating stepping action (frozen gait), and disequilibrium.
  • Motor planning deficits
  • Patients with gait apraxia have a hard time getting started with walking and may have balance difficulties
  • Gait apraxia is commonly seen in dementia (especially vascular dementia).
  • No motor weakness (no weakness in the limbs)
  • Responsible site of lesions are in the frontal lobe, dorsomedial frontal cortex, SMA region or immediately subjacent white matter
  • and/or the basal ganglia
  • Gait recruits a complex network
  • It is observed in an advanced stage of Parkinson’s
  • Difficulty with skilled motor gestures

Disorder of the action of walking. They have a hard time getting the motion started.

72
Q

Constructional Apraxia

A
  • Inability to understand spatial relationship between objects
  • Inability to copy, through drawing or physical manipulation, the spatial pattern in which things are
    arranged (can have intact visual analysis and intact motor control but can’t put it all ogetther to construct a structure).
    * Ex: reconstruct a puzzle or reproduce a model with blocks
    Lesions where?
  • Parietal lobe lesions
  • Mostly right, also left
    Reminder: the right hemisphere is better for spatial construction, orientation, distributing our attention in space
73
Q

Visuoconstructional disabilities

A
  • Failure in drawing or assembling tasks (Thought it was a lost of spatial sense in general and to combine activities)
  • In the 1880’s they were interpreted as evidence of either:
    -loss of the spatial sense
    -impairment of the capacity for combinatory activity
  • In the 1920s German neurologist KarL Kleist
  • Introduced the concept of ‘constructional apraxia’→ specific defect in spatial-organisational skills (organizing your actions in space
  • Considered it was a disconnection syndrome as described by Geschwind (between the two parietal areas)
  • Failure to integrate the visual and kinesthetic information (impairement using the visual information to perform a kinesthetic movement)
  • Not explained solely by visuoperceptual deficits
74
Q

Pure Constructional Apraxia

A
  • Normal visual perception
  • Normal abilities to localize objects in space
  • No ideomotor apraxia
  • Do not have hemineglectt
  • No motor disability

→Problems in execution or praxis (the process of using a theory or something that you have learned in a practical way)

75
Q

explation of pure constructional apraxia

A

Before Kleist
→bilateral occipitoparietal disease
Kleist’s model
* He studied more specific lesions and came up with this more integrative model where both the left snf right psrietal lesion were necessary for those kind of complex visual constructunal abilitiese.
* Visuomotor integrative process underlying constructional performances: in the left hemisphere then sent to the right hemisphere by the corpus callosum
* The right parietal lobe mediates bilateral constructional activity

LH does motor planning
RH more visual spaial analysis.

76
Q

Constructional apraxia

A
  • Lesions either left or right but more Right parietal lesions cause constructional apraxia
  • Lesions in the CC also
  • According to Kleist’s formulation
  • Left occipito-parietal area: executive aspects (motor panning aspect)
    Lesion = disruption in the motoric-integrative component of constructions but visuoperceptual performance ok
  • Right hemisphere: perception of spatial relationships (visual-spatial relationship between objects and between persons hand)
    Lesion = visuoconstructional deficits caused by visuoperceptual impairments
77
Q

Name and explain the different tests used to test for constructional apraxia.

A
  • Stick-arranging test: reproduce a pattern with sticks (it is because they cannot perceive the shape)
  • Block Design: reproduce a construction (easier than the followingg)
  • Block Design task from 2D picture (measure more complex analytic abilities) - yellow and red block. You need to reporduce the same pattern. Difficult task for people with right parietal lesions.
  • 3D block construction
  • Drawing from memory : the individual element can be ok but the way they are arranged together to form a better picture is hard (spatial arrangement is off)
  • Copy a drawing
78
Q

The Rey Osterrieth complex figures

A

On the left is the template they see what theey have to reproduce.

79
Q

The Rey Osterrieth complex figures (continued)

A

Sometimes we see constructional apraxia in the LH

Left Hemisphere region, elements are all there, spatially at the correct location but the motoric aspect is not as good.

Right hemisphere lesions: lack of accurate spatial relations between components of objects and an incoherent, disjointed quality
* Patients do not necessarily fail to notice or copy individual elements and do not have distinctly lateralized impairments as in neglect (but can also have left neglect)
→The correct spatial relationships between items are lost and elements are transposed to different positions or orientations.
Do not forget elements, but place them att the wrong location.
can have hemineglect

Left hemisphere lesions: oversimplified, reduced details, visual cues help them
* Usually no hemineglect
→The right hemisphere posterior parietal area still receives the information by interhemispheric connections and can compensate.
* But can have agraphia etc…

Left→motoric executive aspects
Right→perception of spatial relationship: visuospatial impairment

80
Q

LESION CASE STUDY
Right parietal lesion

A

Right parietal lesion
* Very hard time to reproduce images, the more complex = the harder.
* Patient failed specifically at representational tests, which imply the ability to conceptualize complex spatial relationships.
* Independent of elementary visuo-perceptual and executive impairments.
* Supports the idea that, between the visuo- perceptual analysis and the realization of graphic output, some intermediate stages of drawing exist, at which information is processed to prepare and guide motor output –> somehwere in between where the parietal lobe is and before motor output.

most difficult with hard ones
81
Q

LESION CASE STUDY
Left brain reegion

A

Left brain lesion in the territory of the middle cerebral artery involving parietal and frontal lobes.
* leads to constructional apraxia
* Right hemiparesis
* No hemianopia
* Complete production aphasia (but can point to things you ask)
* Line bissection and visual search task ok→no perceptual hemineglect

82
Q

Parietal lesion left vs right

A

Every patient is different - but u can se a general pattern. This is what they concluded by many studies

LPL: better spatial aspect
RLR: woese spatial and reproducong pattern correctly (this case also had hemineglect).

83
Q

Summarize posterior parietal areas

A
  • Remember: The posterior parietal area to construct a visual world, spatial relationship and attention (work together)

The left side:
* Writing (spatial representation of letters)
* Mathematical thoughts also need spatial abilities
* Being aware of what you do with your body
* Using the body to convey an information (LH is dominant for every motor aspect of your actions)

The right side:
* Spatial relationship between objects and you and the objects
* Right hemisphere is better for spatial construction, orientation, distributing our attention in space

Working together!→Corpus callosum

84
Q

study tried to distinguish the different disorders with the different locations of the lesions.

A

Used thee Rey-Osterreitch complex figure (RCOF) and Kudgment line orientation test (JLOT)

ROCF and JLOT
* Both tests measure visuoperception (visual spatial analysis, JLOT has no motor aspect to it, ROCF does)
* Only ROCF has a constructional component.
* Large shared anatomic correlates (location of lesion) for the ROCF and JLOT in the right supramarginal gyrus.
* Lesions in the right superior (and posterior part) parietal lobule, angular gyrus, and middle occipital gyri associated with poor performance on the ROCF, but not the JLOT.

85
Q

Choosing the right task

A
  • Apperceptive agnosia: not a posterior parietal lesion
    Copy a drawing: impaired
    Different reason: difficulties putting all visual elements together→integration
    →Perceptual deficits
  • ventral stream of vision is affected
  • Constructional Apraxia: not purely motor, not purely perceptual (in between)

Harder to copy a complex figure, it involves several aspects:
-Visual inspection and integration of various parts
-Preparation and planning of the motor execution
-Construction: spatial relationship between objects, in time

86
Q

Adaption/ recovery of some disorders

A

The example of Callosal lesion: (left hand apraxia) the patient does the action it with the right hand as if to show to the right hemisphere, then can imitate. Use the other hand to cross-cue the other.

87
Q

Every patients is different

A

Important to realise that:
- There are brain lesions, all different
- There are clinical observations
- Not always a one-to-one correspondence between a lesion site and a symptom, especially for complex functions
e.g.: constructional apraxia observed with frontal lesions
- Also depend on the type of lesion and when is the patient tested (there is evolution)
* Some complex tasks, like the Block Design test of the Wechsler: multiple cause for defective performance
- Same for the Figure of Rey