MODELING BRAIN ADAPTATION TO FOCAL DAMAGE

Determining how feature maps in the cerebral cortex adapt to sudden, f ocal damage is important for gaining a deeper understanding of neurolo gical illnesses such as stroke. In this paper we describe a neural mod el of the region of primary sensory cortex related to upper extremity proprioception, and show how the feature map there reorganizes followi ng a simulated lesion. A perilesion zone with decreased activity appea rs and then gradually expands with time. These results differ from tho se seen with previous models of cortical lesions, and offer an alterna tive mechanism to the ''ischemic penumbra'' seen in certain types of s troke.