scholarly journals Cortical Re-organization After Traumatic Brain Injury Elicited Using Functional Electrical Stimulation Therapy: A Case Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matija Milosevic ◽  
Tomoya Nakanishi ◽  
Atsushi Sasaki ◽  
Akiko Yamaguchi ◽  
Taishin Nomura ◽  
...  

Functional electrical stimulation therapy (FEST) can improve motor function after neurological injuries. However, little is known about cortical changes after FEST and weather it can improve motor function after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our study examined cortical changes and motor improvements in one male participant with chronic TBI suffering from mild motor impairment affecting the right upper-limb during 3-months of FEST and during 3-months follow-up. In total, 36 sessions of FEST were applied to enable upper-limb grasping and reaching movements. Short-term assessments carried out using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) showed reduced cortical silent period (CSP), indicating cortical and/or subcortical inhibition after each intervention. At the same time, no changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were observed. Long-term assessments showed increased MEP corticospinal excitability after 12-weeks of FEST, which seemed to remain during both follow-ups, while no changes in CSP were observed. Similarly, long-term assessments using TMS mapping showed larger hand MEP area in the primary motor cortex (M1) after 12-weeks of FEST as well as during both follow-ups. Corroborating TMS results, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data showed M1 activations increased during hand grip and finger pinch tasks after 12-weeks of FEST, while gradual reduction of activity compared to after the intervention was seen during follow-ups. Widespread changes were seen not only in the M1, but also sensory, parietal rostroventral, supplementary motor, and premotor areas in both contralateral and ipsilateral hemispheres, especially during the finger pinch task. Drawing test performance showed improvements after the intervention and during follow-ups. Our findings suggest that task-specific and repetitive FEST can effectively increase cortical activations by integrating voluntary motor commands and sensorimotor network through functional electrical stimulation (FES). Overall, our results demonstrated cortical re-organization in an individual with chronic TBI after FEST.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matija Milosevic ◽  
Tomoya Nakanishi ◽  
Atsushi Sasaki ◽  
Akiko Yamaguchi ◽  
Milos R. Popovic ◽  
...  

AbstractFunctional electrical stimulation therapy (FEST) can improve motor function after neurological injuries. However, little is known about cortical re-organization after FEST and weather it can improve upper-limb motor function after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Therefore, our study examined cortical and motor changes in a single male participant with chronic TBI suffering from mild motor impairment during 3-months of FEST and at 3-months follow-up. FEST was applied to enable upper-limb grasping and reaching movements during each session, which was performed for 45-60 min, 3 days per week, over 12-weeks. Short-term assessments were examined before and after each session, while long-term assessments were performed at baseline, after 6- and 12-weeks of FEST, and during follow-up 6- and 12-weeks after completing FEST. Short-term assessments carried out using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) showed reduced cortical silent period (CSP), which is related to cortical and/or subcortical inhibition. At the same time, no changes in motor evoked potentials (MEP) were observed, suggesting corticospinal excitability was unaffected. Long-term assessments indicate increased MEP corticospinal excitability after 12-weeks of FEST, which remained during both follow-ups, while no changes in CSP were observed. Similarly, long-term assessments using TMS mapping showed larger hand MEP area in the primary motor cortex (M1) after 12-weeks of FEST as well as during both follow-ups. Corroborating TMS results, fMRI imaging data showed M1, as well as sensory, premotor, parietal area, and supplementary motor area activations increased after 12-weeks of FEST and during both follow-ups. While clinical scores did not change considerably, writing test performance indicates mild improvements after FEST. Our results suggest that FEST can effectively increase cortical activations, while writing tests confirmed functional improvements in fine motor function even after chronic TBI. These results demonstrated long-term recovery mechanisms of FEST, which include cortical re-organization or neuroplasticity to improve motors function after neurological injury.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Bustamante ◽  
Francisco Brevis ◽  
Sebastián Canales ◽  
Sebastián Millón ◽  
Rodrigo Pascual

2017 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar Marquez-Chin ◽  
Shaghayegh Bagher ◽  
Vera Zivanovic ◽  
Milos R. Popovic

Background. Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability. Stroke survivors seldom improve their upper-limb function when their deficit is severe, despite recently developed therapies. Purpose. This study aims to assess the efficacy of functional electrical stimulation therapy in improving voluntary reaching and grasping after severe hemiplegia. Method. A post hoc analysis of a previously completed randomized control trial ( clinicaltrials.gov , No. NCT00221078) was carried out involving 21 participants with severe upper-limb hemiplegia (i.e., Fugl-Meyer Assessment–Upper Extremity [FMA-UE] ≤ 15) resulting from stroke. Findings. Functional Independence Measure Self-Care subscores increased 22.8 (±6.7) points in the intervention group and 9 (±6.5) in the control group, following 40 hr of equal-intensity therapy. FMA-UE score changes were 27.2 (±13.5) and 5.3 (±11.0) for the intervention and control groups, respectively. Implications. The results may represent the largest upper-limb function improvements in any stroke population to date, especially in those with severe upper-limb deficit.


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