title: Functional anatomy of motor recovery after early brain damage.
abstract: Functional magnetic resonance imaging and transcranial magnetic stimulation were used to examine a 34 year-old right-handed patient, who, at the age of 6 years, had experienced sudden right hemiplegia, seizures, and stupor during a bout of measles encephalitis, followed by incomplete distal right motor recovery. Morphological MRI showed massive unilateral enlargement of the left ventricle, associated with extreme thinning of the white and gray matter,with partial preservation of the pyramidal tract. Functional MRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation revealed reorganization of the motor cortices, and integrity of the corticospinal pathway, respectively. Our findings indicate that complete hand motor recovery may require functional connections between the motor cortical areas and cortical-subcortical structures, in addition to the retained integrity of the primary sensorimotor area and pyramidal tract.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione S. Lucia IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mattia
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tomaiuolo
authors.forename: Massimiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oliveri
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castriota-Scanderbeg
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sabatini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013344:Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis / Q000473:pathology