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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Circumscribed Capsular Infarct Modeling Using a Photothrombotic Technique

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Published on: June 2, 2016

Crossed cortico-spinal motor control after capsular stroke.

Christoph Braun¹, Martin Staudt, Carmen Schmitt

¹Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. christoph.braun@uni-tuebingen.de

The European Journal of Neuroscience

|June 15, 2007

Summary

Crossed corticospinal tract (CST) connectivity is crucial for motor function recovery after stroke. Maintaining or regaining use of these crossed CST fibers significantly aids in achieving effective motor recovery.

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Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke

Published on: July 10, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Rehabilitation Medicine
Motor Control

Background:

Stroke recovery often involves nonprimary motor areas, but the role of the primary motor cortex (M1) remains debated.
Restoring 'near normal' neural activation patterns is hypothesized to be beneficial for functional recovery post-stroke.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the contribution of ipsilesional and contralesional primary motor cortex (M1) to stroke recovery.
To explore the integrity and functional relevance of the corticospinal tract (CST) in patients with recovered motor function after stroke.

Main Methods:

Combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in a cross-sectional study.
Assessed cortico-spinal tract (CST) integrity at rest using TMS and pathway recruitment during a motor task (precision grip) using cortico-muscular coherence (CMC) via MEG.
Studied nine patients with well-recovered motor function months after subcortical stroke.

Main Results:

Demonstrated the presence of crossed cortico-spinal connectivity using both TMS and MEG.
Found a significant positive correlation (r = 0.85) between cortico-muscular coherence (CMC) magnitude and recovered muscle strength.
Identified crossed CST connectivity as a common finding in well-recovered capsular stroke patients.

Conclusions:

Crossed corticospinal tract (CST) connectivity is frequently observed in patients with successful motor recovery after stroke.
Maintaining or re-establishing connections via crossed CST fibers appears to be a key mechanism for effective motor function recovery.
The findings suggest that crossed CST pathways play a functionally relevant role in post-stroke motor rehabilitation.