Open AccessSupplementary motor area deactivation impacts the recovery of hand function from severe peripheral nerve injury
Author(s) -
Ye-Chen Lu,
Hanqiu Liu,
XuYun Hua,
Yun-Dong Shen,
Wendong Xu,
JianGuang Xu,
Yajia Gu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
neural regeneration research/neural regeneration research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.93
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1876-7958
pISSN - 1673-5374
DOI - 10.4103/1673-5374.180756
Subject(s) - brachial plexus , motor imagery , medicine , peripheral nerve injury , peripheral , neuroplasticity , magnetic resonance imaging , brachial plexus injury , neuroscience , physical medicine and rehabilitation , motor function , functional magnetic resonance imaging , peripheral nerve , nerve injury , psychology , anesthesia , anatomy , radiology , brain–computer interface , electroencephalography
Although some patients have successful peripheral nerve regeneration, a poor recovery of hand function often occurs after peripheral nerve injury. It is believed that the capability of brain plasticity is crucial for the recovery of hand function. The supplementary motor area may play a key role in brain remodeling after peripheral nerve injury. In this study, we explored the activation mode of the supplementary motor area during a motor imagery task. We investigated the plasticity of the central nervous system after brachial plexus injury, using the motor imagery task. Results from functional magnetic resonance imaging showed that after brachial plexus injury, the motor imagery task for the affected limbs of the patients triggered no obvious activation of bilateral supplementary motor areas. This result indicates that it is difficult to excite the supplementary motor areas of brachial plexus injury patients during a motor imagery task, thereby impacting brain remodeling. Deactivation of the supplementary motor area is likely to be a serious problem for brachial plexus injury patients in terms of preparing, initiating and executing certain movements, which may be partly responsible for the unsatisfactory clinical recovery of hand function.