Developmental plasticity connects visual cortex to motoneurons after stroke.
We report motor cortical function in the left occipital cortex of a subject who suffered a left middle cerebral artery stroke early in development. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left occipital cortex evoked contraction of right hand muscles. Electroencephalogram recorded over the left occipital cortex showed: 1) coherence with electromyogram from a right hand muscle; 2) a typical sensorimotor Mu rhythm at rest that was suppressed during contraction of right hand muscles. This is the first evidence that cortical plasticity extends beyond reshaping of primary sensory cortical fields to respecification of the cortical origin of subcortically projecting pathways.
Basu
Anna
A
Developmental Neuroscience, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
Graziadio
Sara
S
Smith
Martin
M
Clowry
Gavin J
GJ
Cioni
Giovanni
G
Eyre
Janet A
JA
D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000503:physiopathology*