Spinal cord microstructural changes are connected with the aberrant sensorimotor cortical oscillatory activity in adults with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Previous animal models have illustrated that reduced cortical activity in the developing brain has cascading activity-dependent effects on the microstructural organization of the spinal cord. A limited number of studies have attempted to translate these findings to humans with cerebral palsy (CP). Essentially, the aberrations in sensorimotor cortical activity in those with CP could have an adverse effect on the spinal cord microstructure. To investigate this knowledge gap, we utilized magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging to quantify motor-related oscillatory activity in fourteen adults with CP and sixteen neurotypical (NT) controls. A subset of these participants also underwent cervical-thoracic spinal cord MRI. Our results showed that the strength of the peri-movement beta desynchronization and the post-movement beta rebound were each weaker in the adults with CP relative to the controls, and these weakened responses were associated with poorer task performance. Additionally, our results showed that the strength of the peri-movement beta response was associated with the total cross-sectional area of the spinal cord and the white matter cross-sectional area. Altogether these results suggest that the altered sensorimotor cortical activity seen in CP may result in activity-dependent plastic changes within the spinal cord microstructure, which could ultimately contribute to the sensorimotor deficits seen in this population.

Regular cannabis use alters the neural dynamics serving complex motor control

“…While we did not observe any motor performance differences between groups, numerous past studies have shown that the amplitude of the β‐ERD response is closely related to motor performance (Kurz et al, 2014, 2020; Spooner et al, 2021; Wiesman et al, 2020; Wilson, Fleischer, et al, 2011). Additionally, studies have shown that patients with Parkinson's disease, as well as cerebral palsy, exhibit weakened β‐ERD responses (Heinrichs‐Graham, Wilson, et al, 2014; Trevarrow et al, 2022). The strength of such beta oscillations is at least partially driven by activity in γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) interneurons, with MEG studies linking increased sensorimotor cortex GABA concentration with stronger β‐ERDs (Hall et al, 2011; Muthukumaraswamy et al, 2013).…”

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“…The somatosensory system is not only responsible for afferent input information but also actively communicates with the motor cortex during movement [ 68 ]. Poor sensory feedback may cause major problems with sensorimotor integration and reduce the accuracy of feedforward predictions[ 69 ]. The afferent sensory feedback could be applied to evaluate movement outcome, possibly impacting the following processing speed.…”

Reduced wrist flexor H-reflex excitability is linked with increased wrist proprioceptive error in adults with cerebral palsy

“…Alternatively, the results might convey that there are fewer motoneurons available for recruitment with contraction in adults with CP. Recent structural neuroimaging studies have shown that the cervical gray matter cross-sectional area is reduced in adults with CP and this reduction is connected to both the aberrant sensorimotor cortical activity in this population and the overall level of hand motor impairment ( 20 , 21 ). Thus, it is very plausible that the reduced FCR H-reflex excitability might reflect the changes in the size of the motor pools and/or interneurons that compose the gray matter at the cervical levels.…”

“…Evidence of possible spinal motor neuron loss has also been reported based on the decreased number of motor units found in ulnar hand muscles of adults with CP ( 19 ). More recently, a structural MR imaging study of the cervical spinal cord in adults with CP uncovered anatomical reductions in the amount of spinal cord gray and white matter ( 20 , 21 ). Furthermore, a reduction in the spinal cord cross-sectional area was found to be linked with the extent of the upper extremity impairment.…”