Huijin Song1, Jae-jun Lee1, In-sung Kim1, Joo-hyun Kim1, Moon-jung Hwang2, Young-ju Lee2, Yangho Kim3, Yongmin Chang1,4
1Department of Medical & Biological Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea; 2GE healthcare, Seoul, Korea; 3Department if Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea; 4Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Molecular Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea
Excessive accumulation of Mn in the globus pallidus(GP) is known to cause cognitive and motor deficits in human. Until now pallidal index(PI) in terms of T1 bright signal intensity at GP is only imaging diagnostic measure to manganism. Currently no functional measure is available for motor behavior of manganese exposure in vivo. The aim of this study investigates motor behavior of manganese exposure compared to normal group using simple motor task. Compared to normal controls, the welder groups showed widespread activations in the supplementary motor area, cingulate motor areas and bilaterally increased activation in the parietal lobe and frontal lobe. This observation suggests the change of motor network in response to Mn accumulation. Therefore, motor fMRI is quite sensitive measure to change of motor network of Mn exposed brain even without T1 high signal at GP and has a great potential as functional diagnostic tool of damaged motor system in occupational exposure to Mn.