MOTOR IMAGERY ACTIVATES THE CEREBELLUM REGIONALLY - A SPECT RCBF STUDY WITH TC-99M-HMPAO

Our earlier findings of a cerebellar activation during motor imagery ( Brain Res., 535 (1990) 313-317) were made with a technique with low re gional resolution. Therefore we could not elucidate the distribution o f the cerebellar activation. In the present study the cerebellar regio nal cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes during motor imagery (MI) was m easured with a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) rCBF method (Tc-99m-HMPAO) with higher regional resolution during (1) sile nt counting, and (2) MI (which included silent counting) in 17 normal subjects. Comparing the SPECT results from the two tasks revealed the regional activations during MI. We confirmed that the most pronounced regional activations during MI were found in the cerebellum, especiall y in its infero-lateral parts on both sides.