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Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Soft Pneumatic Robot Modulates Graph Theory Metrics of Brain Network for Hand Rehabilitation After Stroke
Published on: October 10, 2025
Stroke and the connectome: how connectivity guides therapeutic intervention
Gergely Silasi1, Timothy H Murphy1
1Department of Psychiatry, Kinsmen Laboratory of Neurological Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada; Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada.
Abstract:
Connections between neurons are affected within 3 min of stroke onset by massive ischemic depolarization and then delayed cell death. Some connections can recover with prompt reperfusion; others associated with the dying infarct do not. Disruption in functional connectivity is due to direct tissue loss and indirect disconnections of remote areas known as diaschisis. Stroke is devastating, yet given the brain's redundant design, collateral surviving networks and their connections are well-positioned to compensate. Our perspective is that new treatments for stroke may involve a rational functional and structural connections-based approach. Surviving, affected, and at-risk networks can be identified and targeted with scenario-specific treatments. Strategies for recovery may include functional inhibition of the intact hemisphere, rerouting of connections, or setpoint-mediated network plasticity. These approaches may be guided by brain imaging and enabled by patient- and injury-specific brain stimulation, rehabilitation, and potential molecule-based strategies to enable new connections.
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