Association of Activity Changes in the Primary Sensory Cortex With Successful Motor Rehabilitation of the Hand Following Stroke

Background. Previous studies demonstrated a posterior shift of activation toward the primary sensory cortex (S1) following stroke; however, any relationship between this posterior shift and clinical outcome measures for the affected hand function were unclear. Objective. The authors investigated the possible role of S1 in motor recovery. Methods. Assuming that previous studies examined inhomogeneous groups of patients, the authors selected participants with chronic stroke who had moderate hand paresis, normal sensory examination and somatosensory-evoked potentials, and no lesion within the S1, thalamus, or brain stem. Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) was used to train the impaired hand. To relate fMRI (functional MRI) activation changes from baseline to post-CIMT, a correlation analysis was performed with changes of the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) as a test for the hand function. Results. A close relationship was found between increases in hand function and peak changes in activation within ...