Ipsilateral primary motor cortex and behavioral compensation after stroke: a case series study.

Ipsilateral primary motor cortex and behavioral compensation after stroke: a case series study. Exp Brain Res. 2020 Jan 16;: Authors: Bani-Ahmed A, Cirstea CM Abstract Arm motor recovery after stroke is mainly attributed to reorganization of the primary motor cortex (M1). While M1 contralateral to the paretic arm (cM1) is critical for recovery, the role of ipsilateral M1 (iM1) is still inconclusive. Whether iM1 activity is related to recovery, behavioral compensation, or both is still far from settled. We hypothesized that the magnitude of iM1 activity in chronic stroke survivors will increase or decrease in direct proportion to the degree that movements of the paretic arm are compensated. Movement kinematics (VICON, Oxford Metrics) and functional MRI data (3T MR system) were collected in 11 patients before and after a 4-week training designed to improve motor control of the paretic arm and decrease compensatory trunk recruitment. Twelve matched controls underwent similar evaluations and training. Relationships between iM1 activity and trunk motion were analyzed. At baseline, patients exhibited increased iM1 activity (p = 0.001) and relied more on trunk movement (p = 0.02) than controls. These two variables were directly and significantly related in patients (r = 0.74, p = 0.01) but not in controls (r = 0.28, p = 0.4). After training, patients displayed a significant reduction in iM1 activity (p = 0.008) ...
Source: Experimental Brain Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Exp Brain Res Source Type: research