7T functional MRI finds no evidence for distinct functional subregions in the subthalamic nucleus during a speeded decision-making task

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a small, subcortical brain structure. It is a target for deep brain stimulation, an invasive treatment that reduces motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Side effects of DBS are commonly explained using the tripartite model of STN organization, which proposes three functionally distinct subregions in the STN specialized in cognitive, limbic, and motor processing. However, evidence for the tripartite model exclusively comes from anatomical studies and functional studies using clinical patients. Here, we provide the first experimental tests of the tripartite model in healthy volunteers using ultra-high field 7 Tesla (T) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty-four participants performed a random-dot motion decision-making task with a difficulty manipulation and a choice payoff manipulation aimed to differentially affect cognitive and limbic networks. Moreover, participants responded with their left and right index finger, differentially affecting motor networks. We analysed BOLD signal in three subregions of the STN along the dorsolateral-ventromedial axis, identified using manually delineated high resolution anatomical images and based on a previously published atlas. Using these paradigms, all segments responded equally to the experimental manipulations, and the tasks did not provide evidence for the tripartite model

Propulsive force in front crawl swimming

To evaluate the propulsive forces in front crawl arm swimming, derived from a three-dimensional kinematic analysis, these values were compared with mean drag forces. The propulsive forces during front crawl swimming using the arms only were calculated using three-dimensional kinematic analysis combined with lift and drag coefficients obtained in fluid laboratories. Since, for any constant swimming speed, the mean propulsive force should be equal to the mean drag force acting on the body of the swimmer, mean values of the calculated propulsive forces were compared with the mean drag forces obtained from measurements on a Measuring Active Drag (MAD) system. The two methods yielded comparable results, the mean difference between them being only 5% (2 N). We conclude that propulsive forces obtained from three-dimensional kinematic analysis provide realistic values. The calculation of the propulsive force appears to be rather sensitive to the point on the hand at which the velocity is estimated and less sensitive to the orientation of the hand