University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2021 Jun;35(6):513-524. doi: 10.1177/15459683211006713. Epub 2021 Apr 7.
Activity patterns across brain regions that can be characterized at rest (ie, resting-state functional connectivity [rsFC]) are disrupted after stroke and linked to impairments in motor function. While changes in rsFC are associated with motor recovery, it is not clear how rsFC is modulated by skilled motor practice used to promote recovery. The current study examined how rsFC is modulated by skilled motor practice after stroke and how changes in rsFC are linked to motor learning.
Two groups of participants (individuals with stroke and age-matched controls) engaged in 4 weeks of skilled motor practice of a complex, gamified reaching task. Clinical assessments of motor function and impairment, and brain activity (via functional magnetic resonance imaging) were obtained before and after training.
While no differences in rsFC were observed in the control group, increased connectivity was observed in the sensorimotor network, linked to learning in the stroke group. Relative to healthy controls, a decrease in network efficiency was observed in the stroke group following training.
Findings indicate that rsFC patterns related to learning observed after stroke reflect a shift toward a compensatory network configuration characterized by decreased network efficiency.
在大脑区域中，可以在休息时（即静息态功能连接性[rsFC]）描述的活动模式在中风后会中断，并与运动功能障碍有关。虽然 rsFC 的变化与运动恢复有关，但尚不清楚 rsFC 是如何通过用于促进恢复的熟练运动练习来调节的。本研究探讨了中风后 rsFC 是如何通过熟练的运动练习来调节的，以及 rsFC 的变化如何与运动学习相关。
两组参与者（中风患者和年龄匹配的对照组）参与了为期 4 周的复杂、游戏化的伸手任务的熟练运动练习。在训练前后获得了运动功能和障碍的临床评估，以及大脑活动（通过功能磁共振成像）。
在对照组中未观察到 rsFC 的差异，而在中风组中观察到感觉运动网络的连接性增加，与学习有关。与健康对照组相比，训练后中风组的网络效率下降。
研究结果表明，中风后观察到的与学习相关的 rsFC 模式反映了向以网络效率降低为特征的补偿性网络配置的转变。
