Analysis of correlation between structural changes and functional response in post-stroke motor recovery after cM1...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• The precise relationship between brain connectivity changes and motor recovery following a stroke is not fully understood.
• Investigating the neural mechanisms underlying stroke rehabilitation is crucial for developing effective therapeutic strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the correlation between white matter alterations and functional recovery after stroke.
• To explore how contralesional primary motor cortex (cM1) low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LF-rTMS) influences motor recovery through brain network mechanisms.

Main Methods:

• Fifty stroke patients received either cM1 LF-rTMS or sham stimulation.
• Evaluated changes in structural-functional (SC-FC) coupling at whole-brain, hemispheric, and modular levels.
• Analyzed hemispheric SC-FC coupling lateralization index (LI), intramodular/intermodular connectivity, and node participant coefficient (PC).

Main Results:

• The LF-rTMS group demonstrated significantly greater motor function improvement compared to the sham group.
• Motor function gains positively correlated with whole-brain and affected-side network SC-FC coupling, hemispheric SC-FC coupling LI, and specific intermodular connectivity patterns.
• Conversely, motor recovery showed negative correlation with intact-side hemisphere SC-FC coupling.

Conclusions:

• cM1 LF-rTMS effectively modulates brain structural and functional connectivity at multiple levels, promoting upper limb motor function recovery after stroke.
• SC-FC coupling serves as a potential sensitive biomarker for predicting motor recovery outcomes in stroke patients.