Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health and Therapy, Daegu Haany University, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [b] Department of Physical Therapy, Yeungnam College of Science and Technology, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [c] Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Science, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Republic of Korea | [d] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Republic of Korea
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Sung Ho Jang, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University 317-1, Daemyungdong, Namku, Taegu, 705-717, Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 053 620 3269; Fax: +82 53 620 3269; E-mail: strokerehab@hanmail.net, belado@med.yu.ac.kr
Abstract: It is well-known that sound production can affect the motor system. We investigated whether a short, loud phonation affected cortical activation caused by a motor task using functional MRI. Fifteen right-handed healthy subjects were recruited for this study. We compared the cortical activation caused by the performance of a motor task (right hand grasp-release movements) to that caused by the performance of the motor task with phonation(“ah” sound). We found that performance of the motor task with phonation resulted in less activation in the primary sensori-motor cortex than did the performance of the motor task alone. It seemed that phonation during the motor task enhanced the efficiency of cortical activation compared to that caused by the motor task alone.
Keywords: Corticospinal tract, functional MRI, language, sound, motor function
