title: Motor recovery via aberrant pyramidal tract in a patient with traumatic brain injury: A diffusion tensor tractography study.
abstract: The aberrant pyramidal tract is the collateral pathway of the pyramidal tract through the medial lemniscus in the brainstem. A 21-year-old man presented with right hemiparesis due to a traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage in the left corona radiata. His motor function recovered almost to the normal state at 10 months after onset. Through diffusion tensor tractography, the pyramidal tract in the affected (left) hemisphere showed discontinuation at the pontine level at 13 months after onset. An aberrant pyramidal tract was observed, which originated from the primary motor cortex and the supplementary motor area and descended through the corona radiata, then through the posterior limb of the internal capsule and the medial lemniscus pathway from the midbrain to the pons, finally entered into the pyramidal tract area at the pontomedullary junction. It suggests that the motor functions of the right extremities in this patient had recovered by this aberrant pyramidal tract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 705-717, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Seok
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 705-717, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jang
keywords: aberrant pyramidal tract; diffusion tensor imaging; diffusion tensor tractography; grant-supported paper; head trauma; intracerebral hemorrhage; motor paralysis; motor recovery; neural regeneration; neuroimaging; neuroregeneration; photographs-containing paper; pyramidal tract; transcranial magnetic stimulation; traumatic brain injury