title: Relationship between functional connectivity and motor function assessment in stroke patients with hemiplegia: a resting-state functional MRI study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to examine the brain mechanisms of stroke patients with hemiplegia, but the relationship between functional connectivity (FC) and treatment-induced motor function recovery has not yet been fully investigated. This study aimed to identify the brain FC changes in stroke patients and study the relationship between FC and motor function assessment using the resting-state fMRI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen stroke patients with hemiplegia and fifteen healthy control subjects (HCSs) were recruited in this study. We compared the FC between the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1) and the whole brain of the patients with the FC of the HCSs and studied the FC changes in the patients before and after conventional rehabilitation and motor imagery therapy. Additionally, correlations between the FC change and motor function of the patients were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to the HCSs, the FC in the patient group was significantly increased between the ipsilesional M1 and the ipsilesional inferior parietal cortex, frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area (SMA), and contralesional angular and decreased between the ipsilesional M1 and bilateral M1. After the treatment, the FC between the ipsilesional M1 and contralesional M1 increased while the FC between the ipsilesional M1 and ipsilesional SMA and paracentral lobule decreased. A statistically significant correlation was found between the FC change in the bilateral M1 and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) score change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results revealed an abnormal motor network after stroke and suggested that the FC could serve as a biomarker of motor function recovery in stroke patients with hemiplegia.
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 40038, China.
authors: Ye
authors: Y
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Rehabilitation, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors: Hongliang
authors: H
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 40038, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 400038, China.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Yang
authors: Department of Rehabilitation, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors: Rubing
authors: R
authors: Yan
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 40038, China.
authors: Jingna
authors: J
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 40038, China.
authors: Linqiong
authors: L
authors: Sang
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 40038, China.
authors: Pengyue
authors: P
authors: Li
authors: Department of Radiology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 400038, China. wangjian_811@yahoo.com.
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, College of Biomedical Engineering, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Road, Chongqing, 40038, China. qiumingguo@yahoo.com.
authors: Mingguo
authors: M
authors: Qiu
mesh_terms: D063132:Connectome / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009068:Movement; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012146:Rest; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Functional connectivity; M1; Motor imagery; Resting-state fMRI; Stroke