Application of advanced neuroimaging in motor rehabilitation

Abstract

Introduction: Functional magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive technique that allows mapping and visualizing of brain connectivity networks. The hemiparesis after a stroke is a good biological model to study changes in brain connectivity. This model can be expanded if information is obtained before and after neurorehabilitation therapy.
Objective: To present the functional neuroimaging findings in a patient with stroke before and after performing neurorehabilitation therapy.
Materials and methods: As part of the neurorehabilitation protocol, resonance imaging was performed before and after treatment with an equipment operating at 1.5 T. Volumetric T1-weighted images, diffusion images for tractography, functional resonance images with the patient at rest and with the patient performing pincer movement with the right hand were obtained.
Results: Functional maps before and after therapy were obtained, which are presented together with structural connectivity images obtained by tractography. Clinical changes can be seen accompanied by changes in activation patterns obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Conclusion: The versatility of magnetic resonance imaging allows further knowledge of the structural and functional state of the brain generating new possibilities for diagnosis and prognosis in patients undergoing neurorehabilitation therapy. Neurological rehabilitation processes can be quantified and they can reveal certain postlesional neuroplasticity dynamic processes that the central nervous system possesses.