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fMRI of the sensorimotor cortex in patients with traumatic brain injury after intensive rehabilitation

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Abstract

For evaluating the patterns of brain activation in sensorimotor areas following motor rehabilitation, seven male patients diagnosed with TBI underwent an fMRI study before and after being subjected to motor rehabilitation. Six patients showed a reduction in the BOLD signal of their motor cortical areas during the second fMRI evaluation. A decrease in cerebellum activation was also observed in two patients. Newly activated areas, were observed in four patients after treatment. In addition, an increase in the activation of the supplementary motor area (SMA) following rehabilitation was observed in only one test subject. The findings show that motor rehabilitation in TBI patients produces a decrease in the BOLD signal for the sensorimotor areas that were activated prior to treatment. In addition, we observed the recruitment of different brain areas to compensate for functional loss due to TBI in line with the cortical reorganisation mechanism.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge support from the Alβan Programme (European Union Programme of High Level Scholarships for Latin America).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Engenharia de Reabilitação Sensório Motora, Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento-IP&D, Universidade do Vale do Paraíba, Rua Benedito Freire 326, CEP 12244-875, Urbanova São Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil

    F. P. S. Lima, M. O. Lima & J. C. Cogo

  2. Institut Guttmann, Hospital de Neurorreabiltación, Camí de Can Ruti, s/n, 08916, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain

    D. Leon, J. Vidal & M. Bernabeu

  3. Universidade Nove de Julho, Hospital Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil

    P. R. G. Lucareli

  4. IDIBAPS, GIB-UB CIBER-BBN, Rossello 153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    C. Falcon

  5. IDIBAPS, Rossello 153, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    N. Bargalló & C. Junqué

  6. Hospital Clinic, Villarroel 170, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    N. Bargalló

  7. Universidad de Barcelona, Casanova 143, 08036, Barcelona, Spain

    C. Junqué

Authors
  1. F. P. S. Lima
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  2. M. O. Lima
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  3. D. Leon
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  4. P. R. G. Lucareli
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  5. C. Falcon
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  6. J. C. Cogo
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  7. N. Bargalló
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  8. J. Vidal
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  9. M. Bernabeu
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  10. C. Junqué
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Correspondence to F. P. S. Lima.

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Lima, F.P.S., Lima, M.O., Leon, D. et al. fMRI of the sensorimotor cortex in patients with traumatic brain injury after intensive rehabilitation. Neurol Sci 32, 633–639 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-011-0604-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-011-0604-6

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