OBJECTIVESTo evaluate the effect of Uhwang Chungsim Won [UC, Niuhuang Qingxin Pill ()] on the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal response to a motor stimulation task using a hand grasping paradigm.

METHODSTen healthy right-handed male volunteers were recruited. Their BOLD fMRI signal characteristics during hand grasping were determined before and 1 h after consuming UC.

RESULTSWith the administration of UC, BOLD responses to the right hand motor task showed a decrease in both hemispheres including the right cerebellar culmen, right and left medial frontal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right and left sublobar insula, right and left posterior cingulate, left precuneus, and right precentral gyrus. Decreased BOLD responses to the left hand motor task were shown in the right lingual gyrus, right cerebellar culmen, left superior temporal gyrus, right and left middle frontal gyrus, and right precentral gyrus after UC administration. Increased BOLD responses to the left hand motor task were shown in the left and right posterior cingulate, while there was no increased response to the right hand motor task after UC administration.

CONCLUSIONSUC administration significantly decreased fMRI BOLD signal responses to hand grasping in most of the brain areas including the primary motor cortex, but it is not clear whether these decreased responses were caused by a decrease in neuronal activities or by an increase in cerebral blood flow due to the cerebral vasodilatory effects of UC. Further studies using positron emission tomography or single photon emission computed tomography are needed to fully elucidate these findings.