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

When manipulating objects with both hands, the corpus callosum (CC) is of paramount importance for interhemispheric information exchange. Hence, CC damage results in impaired bimanual performance. Here, healthy young adults performed a complex bimanual dial rotation task with or without augmented visual feedback and according to five interhand frequency ratios (1:1, 1:3, 2:3, 3:1, 3:2). The relation between bimanual task performance and microstructural properties of seven CC subregions (i.e., prefrontal, premotor/supplementary motor, primary motor, primary sensory, occipital, parietal, and temporal) was studied by means of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Findings revealed that bimanual coordination deteriorated in the absence as compared to the presence of augmented visual feedback. Simple frequency ratios (1:1) were performed better than the multifrequency ratios (non 1:1). Moreover, performance was more accurate when the preferred hand (1:3-2:3) as compared to the nonpreferred hand (3:1-3:2) moved faster and during noninteger (2:3-3:2) as compared to integer frequency ratios (1:3-3:1). DTI findings demonstrated that bimanual task performance in the absence of augmented visual feedback was significantly related to the microstructural properties of the primary motor and occipital region of the CC, suggesting that white matter microstructure is associated with the ability to perform bimanual coordination patterns in young adults. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.