Longitudinal Assessment of Motor Recovery of Contralateral Hand after Basal Ganglia Infarction Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

We used functional fMRI to study the brain activation during active finger movements at different time points during the recovery phase following basal ganglia infarction. Four hemiplegic patients with basal ganglia infarction were serially evaluated at different time points spanning the acute and chronic phase using fMRI. To evaluate motor recovery, the patients were asked to perform functional tasks arranged in a block design manner with their hand. On follow-up (chronic phase), three patients achieved significant recovery of motor function of affected limbs. Activation of bilateral sensorimotor cortex (SMC) was observed in two of these patients, while activation of cerebellum was observed in all patients. No remarkable recovery of motor function was noted in one patient with left basal ganglia infarction. In this patient, the activation domain was located in SMC of both sides in acute phase and in ipsilateral SMC in chronic phase. Contralateral SMC appears to be involved in the functional rehabilitation following basal ganglia infarction. The cerebellum may act as an intermediary during functional recovery following basal ganglia infarction. The activation domain associated with active finger movement may be bilateral in acute phase; one patient was ipsilateral in the chronic stage.

Relationship between temporal dynamics of intrinsic brain activity and motor function remodeling in patients with acute BGIS

“…The cerebellum plays an important role in motor execution ( Fujita, 2016 ; Huang et al, 2022 ). In our study, the cerebellum was activated in patients with acute BGIS with motor dysfunction, consistent with the reported results ( Fu et al, 2016 ; Chen et al, 2018 ). The visual network is activated during the recovery of stroke movement, and limb movement is heavily dependent on visual guidance ( Ward et al, 2003 ; Archer et al, 2016 ).…”

Which sites better represent the sensory function of hands in convalescent stroke patients? A study based on electrophysiological examination

“…The formation of light touch sensation and 2-PD was complex, and the assessment process was influenced by the patient’s injury location and subjective consciousness, which may influence the accuracy. The education level, occupation, living habits, etc., may be factors that affect the epidermal thickness, which may affect sensation ( Zimmerman et al, 2014 ; Fu et al, 2016 ). It is worth exploring whether they represent superficial and compound sensory stimuli.…”

Dynamic Neural Network Changes Revealed by Voxel-Based Functional Connectivity Strength in Left Basal Ganglia Ischemic Stroke

“…As mentioned above, BG stroke could cause long-term motor impairment, but the mechanism of its brain function has rarely been studied and not been elucidated. A previous longitudinal study employing task-based fMRI has demonstrated that the contralateral sensorimotor cortex (SMC) appears to be involved in functional rehabilitation following BG ischemic stroke (Fu et al, 2016). However, comprehensive and integrated analysis of BG stroke has not been conducted.…”