Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients
Structural brain imaging has continuously furthered our knowledge how different pathways of the human motor system contribute to residual motor output in stroke patients. Tract-related microstructure of pathways between primary and premotor areas has been found to critically influence motor output....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2019-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neurology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2019.00105/full |
| _version_ | 1818195776151486464 |
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| author | Robert Schulz Clemens G. Runge Clemens G. Runge Marlene Bönstrup Marlene Bönstrup Bastian Cheng Christian Gerloff Götz Thomalla Friedhelm C. Hummel Friedhelm C. Hummel Friedhelm C. Hummel |
| author_facet | Robert Schulz Clemens G. Runge Clemens G. Runge Marlene Bönstrup Marlene Bönstrup Bastian Cheng Christian Gerloff Götz Thomalla Friedhelm C. Hummel Friedhelm C. Hummel Friedhelm C. Hummel |
| author_sort | Robert Schulz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Structural brain imaging has continuously furthered our knowledge how different pathways of the human motor system contribute to residual motor output in stroke patients. Tract-related microstructure of pathways between primary and premotor areas has been found to critically influence motor output. The motor network is not restricted in connectivity to motor and premotor areas but these brain regions are densely interconnected with prefrontal regions such as the dorsolateral (DLPFC) and ventrolateral (VLPFC) prefrontal cortex. So far, the available data about the topography of such direct pathways and their microstructural properties in humans are sparse. To what extent prefrontal-premotor connections might also relate to residual motor outcome after stroke is still an open question. The present study was designed to address this issue of structural connectivity of prefrontal-premotor pathways in 26 healthy, older participants (66 ± 10 years old, 15 male) and 30 well-recovered chronic stroke patients (64 ± 10 years old, 21 males). Probabilistic tractography was used to reconstruct direct fiber tracts between DLPFC and VLPFC and three premotor areas (dorsal and ventral premotor cortex and the supplementary motor area). Direct connections between DLPFC/VLPFC and the primary motor cortex were also tested. Tract-related microstructure was estimated for each specific tract by means of fractional anisotropy and alternative diffusion metrics. These measures were compared between the groups and related to residual motor outcome in the stroke patients. Direct prefrontal-premotor trajectories were successfully traceable in both groups. Similar in gross anatomic topography, stroke patients presented only marginal microstructural alterations of these tracts, predominantly of the affected hemisphere. However, there was no clear evidence for a significant association between tract-related microstructure of prefrontal-premotor connections and residual motor functions in the present group of well-recovered stroke patients. Direct prefrontal-motor connections between DLPFC/VLPFC and the primary motor cortex could not be reconstructed in the present healthy participants and stroke patients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T01:23:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2ee20d8ba69d4c44aae3bdd7cf21a110 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2295 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T01:23:33Z |
| publishDate | 2019-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Neurology |
| spelling | doaj.art-2ee20d8ba69d4c44aae3bdd7cf21a1102022-12-22T00:43:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952019-02-011010.3389/fneur.2019.00105420583Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke PatientsRobert Schulz0Clemens G. Runge1Clemens G. Runge2Marlene Bönstrup3Marlene Bönstrup4Bastian Cheng5Christian Gerloff6Götz Thomalla7Friedhelm C. Hummel8Friedhelm C. Hummel9Friedhelm C. Hummel10Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Lübeck, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyHuman Cortical Physiology and Neurorehabilitation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United StatesDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyDefitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Geneva, SwitzerlandDefitech Chair of Clinical Neuroengineering, Clinique Romande de Réadaptation, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Valais (EPFL Valais), Sion, SwitzerlandClinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, SwitzerlandStructural brain imaging has continuously furthered our knowledge how different pathways of the human motor system contribute to residual motor output in stroke patients. Tract-related microstructure of pathways between primary and premotor areas has been found to critically influence motor output. The motor network is not restricted in connectivity to motor and premotor areas but these brain regions are densely interconnected with prefrontal regions such as the dorsolateral (DLPFC) and ventrolateral (VLPFC) prefrontal cortex. So far, the available data about the topography of such direct pathways and their microstructural properties in humans are sparse. To what extent prefrontal-premotor connections might also relate to residual motor outcome after stroke is still an open question. The present study was designed to address this issue of structural connectivity of prefrontal-premotor pathways in 26 healthy, older participants (66 ± 10 years old, 15 male) and 30 well-recovered chronic stroke patients (64 ± 10 years old, 21 males). Probabilistic tractography was used to reconstruct direct fiber tracts between DLPFC and VLPFC and three premotor areas (dorsal and ventral premotor cortex and the supplementary motor area). Direct connections between DLPFC/VLPFC and the primary motor cortex were also tested. Tract-related microstructure was estimated for each specific tract by means of fractional anisotropy and alternative diffusion metrics. These measures were compared between the groups and related to residual motor outcome in the stroke patients. Direct prefrontal-premotor trajectories were successfully traceable in both groups. Similar in gross anatomic topography, stroke patients presented only marginal microstructural alterations of these tracts, predominantly of the affected hemisphere. However, there was no clear evidence for a significant association between tract-related microstructure of prefrontal-premotor connections and residual motor functions in the present group of well-recovered stroke patients. Direct prefrontal-motor connections between DLPFC/VLPFC and the primary motor cortex could not be reconstructed in the present healthy participants and stroke patients.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2019.00105/fulldiffusionrecoverycorticocorticalDLPFCVLPFCtractography |
| spellingShingle | Robert Schulz Clemens G. Runge Clemens G. Runge Marlene Bönstrup Marlene Bönstrup Bastian Cheng Christian Gerloff Götz Thomalla Friedhelm C. Hummel Friedhelm C. Hummel Friedhelm C. Hummel Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients Frontiers in Neurology diffusion recovery corticocortical DLPFC VLPFC tractography |
| title | Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients |
| title_full | Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients |
| title_fullStr | Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients |
| title_short | Prefrontal-Premotor Pathways and Motor Output in Well-Recovered Stroke Patients |
| title_sort | prefrontal premotor pathways and motor output in well recovered stroke patients |
| topic | diffusion recovery corticocortical DLPFC VLPFC tractography |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fneur.2019.00105/full |
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