Brain, Vol. 125, No. 11, 2567-2578,
November 2002
© 2002 Oxford University Press
Changes of non-affected upper limb cortical representation in paraplegic patients as assessed by fMRI
1 ParaCare, University Hospital Balgrist, 2 Institute of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Zurich, and 3 Institute of Neuroinformatics, University and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Correspondence to: Armin Curt, MD, ParaCare, Institute for Rehabilitation and Research, University Hospital Balgrist, Forchstrasse 340, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland E-mail: armin.curt{at}balgrist.ch
Peripheral and central nervous system lesions can induce reorganization within central somatosensory and motor body representations. We report changes in brain activation patterns during movements of non-affected body parts in paraplegic patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). Nine SCI patients and 12 healthy controls underwent blood oxygen level dependent signal functional MRI during sequential finger-to-thumb opposition, flexion and extension of wrist and of elbow, and horizontal movements of the tongue. Single subject and group analyses were performed, and the activation volumes, maximum t values and centres of gravity were calculated. The somatotopical upper limb and tongue representations in the contralateral primary motor cortex (M1) in the SCI patients were preserved without any shift of activation towards the deefferented and deafferented M1 foot area. During finger movements, however, the SCI patients showed an increased volume in M1 activation. Increased activation was also found in non-primary motor and parietal areas, as well as in the cerebellum during movements of the fingers, wrist and elbow, whereas no changes were present during tongue movements. These results document that, in paraplegic patients, the representation of the non-impaired upper limb muscles is modified, though without any topographical reorganization in M1. The extensive changes in primary and non-primary motor areas, and in subcortical regions demonstrate that even distant neuronal damage has impact upon the activation of the whole sensorimotor system.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  H. Kumru, M. Kofler, J. Valls-Sole, E. Portell, and J. Vidal Brainstem Reflexes Are Enhanced Following Severe Spinal Cord Injury and Reduced by Continuous Intrathecal Baclofen Neurorehabil Neural Repair, November 1, 2009; 23(9): 921 - 927. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Endo, T. Tominaga, and L. Olson Cortical Changes Following Spinal Cord Injury with Emphasis on the Nogo Signaling System Neuroscientist, June 1, 2009; 15(3): 291 - 299. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P.J. Wrigley, S.M. Gustin, P.M. Macey, P.G. Nash, S.C. Gandevia, V.G. Macefield, P.J. Siddall, and L.A. Henderson Anatomical Changes in Human Motor Cortex and Motor Pathways following Complete Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2009; 19(1): 224 - 232. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Alkadhi, P. Brugger, S. H. Boendermaker, G. Crelier, A. Curt, M.-C. Hepp-Reymond, and S. S. Kollias What Disconnection Tells about Motor Imagery: Evidence from Paraplegic Patients Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2005; 15(2): 131 - 140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 R. Grasso, Y. P. Ivanenko, M. Zago, M. Molinari, G. Scivoletto, V. Castellano, V. Macellari, and F. Lacquaniti Distributed plasticity of locomotor pattern generators in spinal cord injured patients Brain, May 1, 2004; 127(5): 1019 - 1034. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|