Changes in brain morphometry after motor rehabilitation in chronic stroke

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurorehabilitation
• Stroke Recovery

Background:

• Motor rehabilitation aims to restore function after stroke.
• Previous research indicates structural brain changes post-rehabilitation, but detailed morphological changes linked to upper limb motor behaviors require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map grey matter (GM) morphological changes associated with motor rehabilitation in chronic stroke patients.
• To utilize voxel-based morphometry (VBM), deformation-based morphometry (DBM), and surface-based morphometry (SBM) to analyze these changes.

Main Methods:

• Forty-one chronic stroke patients underwent 12 sessions of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with intensive occupational therapy.
• MRI scans were acquired pre- and post-intervention, alongside clinical assessments (Fugl-Meyer Assessment, Wolf Motor Function Test-Functional Ability Scale).
• VBM, DBM, and SBM analyses were performed on T1-weighted images, with correlation analysis between cortical thickness and clinical outcomes.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in clinical outcomes were observed post-intervention.
• VBM and DBM revealed significant GM volume changes in both ipsilesional and contralesional motor regions.
• SBM identified significant cortical thickness changes in motor, visuomotor, and somatosensory areas across both hemispheres.

Conclusions:

• Motor rehabilitation leads to structural GM changes in brain regions crucial for motor, visuomotor, and somatosensory functions.
• These findings suggest that structural plasticity occurs in both hemispheres following motor rehabilitation in chronic stroke survivors.