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Papers by Marcus H Heitger

Research paper thumbnail of Mild head injury—a close relationship between motor function at 1 week post-injury and overall recovery at 3 and 6 months

Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Actionsregions Involved in the Observation of Bimanual

Research paper thumbnail of Heitger et al Bimanual JNeurophysiol2012

Research paper thumbnail of Tracking motor learning pathways with DTI and a novel bimanual task

Research paper thumbnail of Brain connectivity and postural control in young traumatic brain injury patients: A diffusion MRI based network analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Testing Multiple Coordination Constraints with a Novel Bimanual Visuomotor Task

Research paper thumbnail of Bimanual Motor Coordination in Older Adults Is Associated with Increased Functional Brain Connectivity – A Graph-Theoretical Analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Motor learning-induced changes in functional brain connectivity as revealed by means of graph-theoretical network analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Microstructural organization of corpus callosum projections to prefrontal cortex predicts bimanual motor learning

Learning & Memory, 2012

The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest white matter tract in the brain. It enables interhemisphe... more The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest white matter tract in the brain. It enables interhemispheric communication, particularly with respect to bimanual coordination. Here, we use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in healthy humans to determine the extent to which structural organization of subregions within the CC would predict how well subjects learn a novel bimanual task. A single DTI scan was taken prior to training. Participants then practiced a bimanual visuomotor task over the course of 2 wk, consisting of multiple coordination patterns. Findings revealed that the predictive power of fractional anisotropy (FA) was a function of CC subregion and practice. That is, FA of the anterior CC, which projects to the prefrontal cortex, predicted bimanual learning rather than the middle CC regions, which connect primary motor cortex. This correlation was specific in that FA correlated significantly with performance of the most difficult frequency ratios tested and not the innately preferr...

Research paper thumbnail of Cortical regions involved in the observation of bimanual actions

Journal of Neurophysiology, 2012

Although we are beginning to understand how observed actions performed by conspecifics with a sin... more Although we are beginning to understand how observed actions performed by conspecifics with a single hand are processed and how bimanual actions are controlled by the motor system, we know very little about the processing of observed bimanual actions. We used fMRI to compare the observation of bimanual manipulative actions with their unimanual components, relative to visual control conditions equalized for visual motion. Bimanual action observation did not activate any region specialized for processing visual signals related to this more elaborated action. On the contrary, observation of bimanual and unimanual actions activated similar occipito-temporal, parietal and premotor networks. However, whole-brain as well as region of interest (ROI) analyses revealed that this network functions differently under bimanual and unimanual conditions. Indeed, in bimanual conditions, activity in the network was overall more bilateral, especially in parietal cortex. In addition, ROI analyses indic...

Research paper thumbnail of Diffusion tensor imaging metrics of the corpus callosum in relation to bimanual coordination: Effect of task complexity and sensory feedback

Human Brain Mapping, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Graph analysis of functional brain networks for cognitive control of action in traumatic brain injury

Research paper thumbnail of Callosal contributions to bimanual coordination: effects of task complexity and sensory feedback}}

Research paper thumbnail of Graph-theoretical network analysis shows changes of functional brain connectivity in motor learning

Please be patient while the object screen loads. Change Site View : Select a site… UCL FUNDP FUSL... more Please be patient while the object screen loads. Change Site View : Select a site… UCL FUNDP FUSL FUCaM. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Saccade sequences as markers for cerebral dysfunction following mild closed head injury

Progress in Brain Research, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of A new approach to predicting postconcussion syndrome after mild traumatic brain injury based upon eye movement function

Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference, 2008

Following on from our earlier findings of a close relationship between motor function and outcome... more Following on from our earlier findings of a close relationship between motor function and outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), this study examined whether it might be possible to predict poor recovery in the form of postconcussion syndrome (PCS) based upon early eye and arm motor function. Within 1 week post-injury, we assessed 37 mTBI patients on measures of saccades, oculomotor smooth pursuit, upper-limb visuomotor function, neuropsychological status, and self-reported health condition. At 3 months, 8 patients met the criteria for PCS. Using discriminant function analyses, we examined whether this future PCS-group could be identified prospectively based on motor function, neuropsychological status, and self-reported health condition at 1 week post-injury. Early eye movement function was the most effective in distinguishing between PCS and non-PCS patients, achieving a sensitivity and specificity of 100% in the present sample. This was followed by self-reported early h...

Research paper thumbnail of Bimanual motor coordination in older adults is associated with increased functional brain connectivity - a graph-theoretical analysis

PLOS One, 2013

In bimanual coordination, older and younger adults activate a common cerebral network but the eld... more In bimanual coordination, older and younger adults activate a common cerebral network but the elderly also have additional activation in a secondary network of brain areas to master task performance. It remains unclear whether the functional connectivity within these primary and secondary motor networks differs between the old and the young and whether task difficulty modulates connectivity. We applied graph-theoretical network analysis (GTNA) to task-driven fMRI data in 16 elderly and 16 young participants using a bimanual coordination task including in-phase and anti-phase flexion/extension wrist movements. Network nodes for the GTNA comprised task-relevant brain areas as defined by fMRI activation foci. The elderly matched the motor performance of the young but showed an increased functional connectivity in both networks across a wide range of connectivity metrics, i.e., higher mean connectivity degree, connection strength, network density and efficiency, together with shorter mean communication path length between the network nodes and also a lower betweenness centrality. More difficult movements showed an increased connectivity in both groups. The network connectivity of both groups had "small world" character. The present findings indicate (a) that bimanual coordination in the aging brain is associated with a higher functional connectivity even between areas also activated in young adults, independently from task difficulty, and (b) that adequate motor coordination in the context of task-driven bimanual control in older adults may not be solely due to additional neural recruitment but also to aging-related changes of functional relationships between brain regions.

Research paper thumbnail of Distribution of microstructural damage in the brains of professional boxers: A diffusion MRI study

Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Motor deficits and recovery during the first year following mild closed head injury

Research paper thumbnail of Impaired eye movements in post-concussion syndrome indicate suboptimal brain function beyond the influence of depression, malingering or intellectual ability

Research paper thumbnail of Mild head injury—a close relationship between motor function at 1 week post-injury and overall recovery at 3 and 6 months

Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of Actionsregions Involved in the Observation of Bimanual

Research paper thumbnail of Heitger et al Bimanual JNeurophysiol2012

Research paper thumbnail of Tracking motor learning pathways with DTI and a novel bimanual task

Research paper thumbnail of Brain connectivity and postural control in young traumatic brain injury patients: A diffusion MRI based network analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Testing Multiple Coordination Constraints with a Novel Bimanual Visuomotor Task

Research paper thumbnail of Bimanual Motor Coordination in Older Adults Is Associated with Increased Functional Brain Connectivity – A Graph-Theoretical Analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Motor learning-induced changes in functional brain connectivity as revealed by means of graph-theoretical network analysis

Research paper thumbnail of Microstructural organization of corpus callosum projections to prefrontal cortex predicts bimanual motor learning

Learning & Memory, 2012

The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest white matter tract in the brain. It enables interhemisphe... more The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest white matter tract in the brain. It enables interhemispheric communication, particularly with respect to bimanual coordination. Here, we use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in healthy humans to determine the extent to which structural organization of subregions within the CC would predict how well subjects learn a novel bimanual task. A single DTI scan was taken prior to training. Participants then practiced a bimanual visuomotor task over the course of 2 wk, consisting of multiple coordination patterns. Findings revealed that the predictive power of fractional anisotropy (FA) was a function of CC subregion and practice. That is, FA of the anterior CC, which projects to the prefrontal cortex, predicted bimanual learning rather than the middle CC regions, which connect primary motor cortex. This correlation was specific in that FA correlated significantly with performance of the most difficult frequency ratios tested and not the innately preferr...

Research paper thumbnail of Cortical regions involved in the observation of bimanual actions

Journal of Neurophysiology, 2012

Although we are beginning to understand how observed actions performed by conspecifics with a sin... more Although we are beginning to understand how observed actions performed by conspecifics with a single hand are processed and how bimanual actions are controlled by the motor system, we know very little about the processing of observed bimanual actions. We used fMRI to compare the observation of bimanual manipulative actions with their unimanual components, relative to visual control conditions equalized for visual motion. Bimanual action observation did not activate any region specialized for processing visual signals related to this more elaborated action. On the contrary, observation of bimanual and unimanual actions activated similar occipito-temporal, parietal and premotor networks. However, whole-brain as well as region of interest (ROI) analyses revealed that this network functions differently under bimanual and unimanual conditions. Indeed, in bimanual conditions, activity in the network was overall more bilateral, especially in parietal cortex. In addition, ROI analyses indic...

Research paper thumbnail of Diffusion tensor imaging metrics of the corpus callosum in relation to bimanual coordination: Effect of task complexity and sensory feedback

Human Brain Mapping, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Graph analysis of functional brain networks for cognitive control of action in traumatic brain injury

Research paper thumbnail of Callosal contributions to bimanual coordination: effects of task complexity and sensory feedback}}

Research paper thumbnail of Graph-theoretical network analysis shows changes of functional brain connectivity in motor learning

Please be patient while the object screen loads. Change Site View : Select a site… UCL FUNDP FUSL... more Please be patient while the object screen loads. Change Site View : Select a site… UCL FUNDP FUSL FUCaM. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Saccade sequences as markers for cerebral dysfunction following mild closed head injury

Progress in Brain Research, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of A new approach to predicting postconcussion syndrome after mild traumatic brain injury based upon eye movement function

Conference proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference, 2008

Following on from our earlier findings of a close relationship between motor function and outcome... more Following on from our earlier findings of a close relationship between motor function and outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), this study examined whether it might be possible to predict poor recovery in the form of postconcussion syndrome (PCS) based upon early eye and arm motor function. Within 1 week post-injury, we assessed 37 mTBI patients on measures of saccades, oculomotor smooth pursuit, upper-limb visuomotor function, neuropsychological status, and self-reported health condition. At 3 months, 8 patients met the criteria for PCS. Using discriminant function analyses, we examined whether this future PCS-group could be identified prospectively based on motor function, neuropsychological status, and self-reported health condition at 1 week post-injury. Early eye movement function was the most effective in distinguishing between PCS and non-PCS patients, achieving a sensitivity and specificity of 100% in the present sample. This was followed by self-reported early h...

Research paper thumbnail of Bimanual motor coordination in older adults is associated with increased functional brain connectivity - a graph-theoretical analysis

PLOS One, 2013

In bimanual coordination, older and younger adults activate a common cerebral network but the eld... more In bimanual coordination, older and younger adults activate a common cerebral network but the elderly also have additional activation in a secondary network of brain areas to master task performance. It remains unclear whether the functional connectivity within these primary and secondary motor networks differs between the old and the young and whether task difficulty modulates connectivity. We applied graph-theoretical network analysis (GTNA) to task-driven fMRI data in 16 elderly and 16 young participants using a bimanual coordination task including in-phase and anti-phase flexion/extension wrist movements. Network nodes for the GTNA comprised task-relevant brain areas as defined by fMRI activation foci. The elderly matched the motor performance of the young but showed an increased functional connectivity in both networks across a wide range of connectivity metrics, i.e., higher mean connectivity degree, connection strength, network density and efficiency, together with shorter mean communication path length between the network nodes and also a lower betweenness centrality. More difficult movements showed an increased connectivity in both groups. The network connectivity of both groups had "small world" character. The present findings indicate (a) that bimanual coordination in the aging brain is associated with a higher functional connectivity even between areas also activated in young adults, independently from task difficulty, and (b) that adequate motor coordination in the context of task-driven bimanual control in older adults may not be solely due to additional neural recruitment but also to aging-related changes of functional relationships between brain regions.

Research paper thumbnail of Distribution of microstructural damage in the brains of professional boxers: A diffusion MRI study

Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Motor deficits and recovery during the first year following mild closed head injury

Research paper thumbnail of Impaired eye movements in post-concussion syndrome indicate suboptimal brain function beyond the influence of depression, malingering or intellectual ability