Article

Little is known about the recovery mechanism of somatosensory function in
thalamic hemorrhage. We investigated the recovery mechanism of somatosensory
function, using functional MRI (fMRI) findings by proprioceptive input in chronic
patients with thalamic hemorrhage. Eleven consecutive chronic patients with
thalamic hemorrhage who showed severe proprioceptive dysfunction were recruited.
The subscale for kinesthetic sensation of the Nottingham Sensory Assessment (NSA)
was used for determination of proprioceptive function. fMRI was performed during
passive movements of the metacarpophalangeal joint. From fMRI, the laterality
index (LI) was calculated for assessment of the relative activity in the
ipsilateral versus the contralateral primary sensori-motor cortex (SM1). The
average LI for affected and unaffected hand stimulation was 0.89 and 0.90,
respectively, and there was no significant difference between LIs (p> 0.05). In
addition, LI of the affected hand stimulation was positively related to NSA
scores (r=0.790, p< 0.05). Our results for LI suggest that the cortical
activation pattern of SM1 was similar in the affected and unaffected hemispheres.
Therefore, it appears that the proprioceptive function of the affected hand
likely recovered by the normally existing medial lemniscus and its
thalamocortical pathway in our patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS