Research article summary (published 30 Jul 2002):

Near-infrared spectroscopic topography as a tool to monitor motor reorganization after hemiparetic stroke: a comparison with functional MRI.

Full Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Motor functional recovery from stroke can occur, but the mechanisms underlying this restorative process remain to be elucidated. We used near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) topography in comparison with functional MRI (fMRI) to evaluate the compensatory motor activation of cortical regions in patients who recovered from hemiparesis after cortical cerebral infarction. METHODS: We examined 6 right-handed patients who suffered cerebral infarction of the middle cerebral artery territory with minimal or mild residual contralateral hemiparesis (4 men and 2 women, 59 to 79 years old, all had left hemiparesis). Both fMRI and NIRS were studied during a hand movement task at chronic stages. Five right-handed, normal subjects (3 men and 2 women, 44 to 81 years old) served as controls. RESULTS: fMRI and NIRS detected very similar cerebral cortical activation, although NIRS detected only superficial activation. The spatial resolution of NIRS was less than that of fMRI, but NIRS provided a dynamic profile of activation. Normal subjects activated predominantly the contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary motor areas during each hand movement. All the stroke patients exhibited the normal activation pattern during normal hand movement. On affected hand movement, the stroke patients showed extended activation not only in the contralateral motor cortex but also in the ipsilateral motor cortex (primary motor cortex and supplementary motor areas). CONCLUSIONS: Both fMRI and NIRS studies provided evidence for the contribution of ipsilateral motor cortical compensation or reorganization to the recovery from poststroke hemiparesis. The result demonstrated that NIRS was a unique tool to monitor poststroke alterations in cortical motor functions.

Author information

Author/s: Kato, Hiroyuki (H); Izumiyama, Masahiro (M); Koizumi, Hideaki (H); Takahashi, Akira (A); Itoyama, Yasuto (Y);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan. katoh(-atsign-)mail.cc.tohoku.ac.jp

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Comparative Study; Controlled Clinical Trial; Journal Article

Journal: Stroke; a journal of cerebral circulation (Stroke), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Aug; vol 33 (issue 8) : pp 2032-6

Dates: Created 2002/08/02; Completed 2002/08/09; Revised 2007/11/15;

PMID: 12154258, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Stroke. 2003 Jan;34(1):3-4; author reply 3-4. (PMID: 12511737)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adaptation, Physiological Aged Aged, 80 and over Cerebral Cortex - pathology; physiopathology Female Functional Laterality Hand - physiopathology Humans Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery - complications; diagnosis; physiopathology Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Male Middle Aged Motor Skills Neuronal Plasticity Paresis - complications; physiopathology Predictive Value of Tests Recovery of Function Reference Values Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared - instrumentation; methods Stroke - complications; diagnosis; physiopathology

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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