Changes in brain functional network connectivity after stroke

作     者：Wei Li Yapeng Li Wenzhen Zhu Xi Chen 

作者机构：Key Laboratory of Image Processing and Intelligent ControlMinistry of Education Department of Control Science and EngineeringHuazhong University of Science and Technology Department of RadiologyTongji HospitalTongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and Technology 

出 版 物：《Neural Regeneration Research》 (中国神经再生研究（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2014年第9卷第1期

页      面：51-60页

核心收录：

学科分类：1002[医学-临床医学] 100204[医学-神经病学] 10[医学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China No.60905024 

主　　题：nerve regeneration brain injury stroke motor areas functional magnetic resonanceimaging brain network independent component analysis functional network connectivity neuralplasticity NSFC grant neural regeneration 

摘      要：Studies have shown that functional network connection models can be used to study brain net- work changes in patients with schizophrenia. In this study, we inferred that these models could also be used to explore functional network connectivity changes in stroke patients. We used independent component analysis to find the motor areas of stroke patients, which is a novel way to determine these areas. In this study, we collected functional magnetic resonance imaging datasets from healthy controls and right-handed stroke patients following their first ever stroke. Using independent component analysis, six spatially independent components highly correlat- ed to the experimental paradigm were extracted. Then, the functional network connectivity of both patients and controls was established to observe the differences between them. The results showed that there were 11 connections in the model in the stroke patients, while there were only four connections in the healthy controls. Further analysis found that some damaged connections may be compensated for by new indirect connections or circuits produced after stroke. These connections may have a direct correlation with the degree of stroke rehabilitation. Our findings suggest that functional network connectivity in stroke patients is more complex than that in hea- lthy controls, and that there is a compensation loop in the functional network following stroke. This implies that functional network reorganization plays a very important role in the process of rehabilitation after stroke.