Compensatory role of the cortico-rubro-spinal tract in motor recovery after stroke.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Studies on nonhuman primates have demonstrated that the cortico-rubro-spinal system can compensate for damage to the pyramidal tract (PT). In humans, so-called alternate motor fibers (aMF), which may comprise the cortico-rubro-spinal tract, have been suggested to play a similar role in motor recovery after stroke. Using diffusion tensor imaging, we examined PT and aMF in the context of human motor recovery by relating their microstructural properties to functional outcome in chronic stroke patients.

Methods

PT and aMF were reconstructed based on their origins in primary motor, dorsal premotor, and supplementary motor cortices in 18 patients and 10 healthy controls. The patients' degree of motor recovery was assessed using the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT).

Re

SUBMITTER: Ruber T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3413760 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature