| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Brain activation study using positron emission tomography revealed that the activity of the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) during dexterous hand movements increases when hand movements were restored by motor training after lesion of the primary motor cortex (M1). We also investigated structural changes of neurons that occur during the training-induced motor recovery. Gene expression of growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) was increased in PMv during recovery period, suggesting that structural changes occurred in axonal projections from PMv. In addition, an anatomical tracer experiment showed that the projections from PMv to subcortical structures, such as the red nucleus, were more abundant in the M1-lesioned monkeys than those in the intact monkeys. These findings suggest that both functional and structural plastic changes in PMv neurons are induced by motor training after brain damage, and the changes result in the establishment of compensatory motor pathways from PMv.
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