Cortical plasticity in patients with median nerve lesions studied with MEG |
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| Authors: | Lotta Fornander Tom Brismar Thomas Hansson Heidi Wikström |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;2. Department of Orthopaedics, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrk?ping, Sweden;3. Lotta.B.Fornander@regionostergotland.se;5. Department of Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery and Burns, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Link?ping, Link?ping, Sweden;6. Biomag Laboratory, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland |
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| Abstract: | We have previously shown age- and time-dependent effects on brain activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI), in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of patients with median nerve injury. Whereas fMRI measures the hemodynamic changes in response to increased neural activity, magnetoencephalography (MEG) offers a more concise way of examining the evoked response, with superior temporal resolution. We therefore wanted to combine these imaging techniques to gain additional knowledge of the plasticity processes in response to median nerve injury. Nine patients with median nerve trauma at the wrist were examined with MEG. The N1 and P1 responses at stimulation of the injured median nerve at the wrist were lower in amplitude compared to the healthy side (p?larger N1 amplitude (p?p?p?increased MEG response amplitude to ulnar nerve stimulation. This can be interpreted as a sign of brain plasticity. |
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| Keywords: | Median nerve peripheral nerve injury regeneration magnetoencephalography plasticity |
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