Increased functional connectivity one week after motor learning and tDCS in stroke patients

Publication date: 6 January 2017 Source:Neuroscience, Volume 340 Author(s): Stéphanie Lefebvre, Laurence Dricot, Patrice Laloux, Philippe Desfontaines, Frédéric Evrard, André Peeters, Jacques Jamart, Yves Vandermeeren Recent studies using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) demonstrated that changes in functional connectivity (FC) after stroke correlate with recovery. The aim of this study was to explore whether combining motor learning to dual transcranial direct current stimulation (dual-tDCS, applied over both primary motor cortices (M1)) modulated FC in stroke patients. Twenty-two chronic hemiparetic stroke patients participated in a baseline rs-fMRI session. One week later, dual-tDCS/sham was applied during motor skill learning (intervention session); one week later, the retention session started with the acquisition of a run of rs-fMRI imaging. The intervention+retention sessions were performed once with dual-tDCS and once with sham in a randomized, cross-over, placebo-controlled, double-blind design. A whole-brain independent component analysis based analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated no changes between baseline and sham sessions in the somatomotor network, whereas a FC increase was observed one week after dual-tDCS compared to baseline (qFDR <0.05, t 63 =4.15). A seed-based analysis confirmed specific stimulation-driven changes within a network of motor and premotor regions in both hemispheres. At baseline and one ...
Source: Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research