Presurgical evaluation of the relationship between arteriovenous malformation located in cortical motor area and the activation of involved motor area by functional MR imaging

Objective To explore the role of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for the location of motor cortical area in the treatment of arteriovenous malformation in this area. Methods The fMRI was performed in 19 patients harbouring arteriovenous malformation in the cortical motor area for observing activation of the motor cortical area during finger to finger movement. The relationship between the activation area and the lesion was analyzed. Results Activation of the cortical motor area was revealed in all the patients. Eighteen cases showed a clear margin between the activation area and lesion,and 1 showed an ill-defined margin. Conclusion Preoperative fMRI is very useful to demonstrate the relationship between the cortical motor area and arteriovenous malformation in this region,thus being very helpful for resection of the lesion.