title: Movement observation activates lower limb motor networks in chronic complete paraplegia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In healthy subjects, observation of actions activates a motor network similar to that involved in the performance of the observed actions. Movement observation could perhaps be applied to functionally sustain brain motor functions when efferent motor commands and proprioceptive feedbacks are disconnected.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The authors examined whether observation-induced brain activation is preserved in people with chronic complete spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine patients and 12 healthy subjects underwent behavioral assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The SCI patients attempted to perform dorsal and plantar flexions of the right foot, and the controls also executed the same movement. Both groups observed subsequent video clips showing the same movement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the SCI group, attempted and observed foot movements activated a common observation-execution network including ventral premotor, parietal cortex, and cerebellum as in healthy subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Long after onset of complete SCI, the brain maintains its ability to respond to task-specific visual inputs, which suggests preservation of motor programs. This persistence might be a prerequisite for repair strategies of the spinal cord that rely on appropriate activation of the brain to try to restore limb function. The preserved cortical network may offer an additional motor rehabilitation approach for people with SCI.
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. shotz@paralab.balgrist.ch
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hotz-Boendermaker
authors.forename: Marie-Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hepp-Reymond
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Curt
authors.forename: Spyros S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kollias
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014796:Visual Perception