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NEUROLOGY 1988;38:388
© 1988 American Academy of Neurology

Motor dominance and lateral asymmetry of the globus pallidus

Carol A. Kooistra, MD and Kenneth M. Heilman, MD

From the Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Animal experiments suggest that neurochemical and anatomic asymmetries exist within the basal ganglia, particularly the globus pallidus, and that these asymmetries correlate with both preferred direction of rotation and limb preference in lever pressing. Human neurotransmitter studies have also revealed a significant asymmetry within the globus pallidus, the left containing greater amounts of dopamine and choline acetyltransferase than the right. Recent anatomic studies of human subcortical regions, limited to the striatum, have failed to show a size asymmetry. We examined 18 normal brains in subjects ranging in age from 26 weeks gestation to 86 years for volumetric asymmetry of the globus pallidus. We found a significant asymmetry, the left side measuring larger in 16 of 18 brains. Considering the role of the basal ganglia in motor control, this data may reflect a structural basis of either axial or limb motor dominance in humans.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Heilman, Box J-236, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610.

Received April 3, 1987. Accepted for publication in final form June 17, 1987.




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