ENHANCED REGIONAL CEREBRAL METABOLIC INTERACTIONS IN THALAMIC CIRCUITRY PREDICTS MOTOR RECOVERY IN HEMIPARETIC STROKE

We applied a multiple regression/discriminant analysis to resting meta bolic data from patients with first hemiparetic suprathalamic infarcti ons to determine if metabolic interdependencies, which may separate re covered (N = 12) from nonrecovered (N = 9) patients, suggest important motor-recovery pathways. Recovered, vs. nonrecovered, patients showed an enhanced ipsileisonal thalamic-contralesional cerebellar metabolic interdependency. This pattern correctly classified 91% of recovered a nd 88% of nonrecovered patients. Metabolic interactions involving bila teral supplementary motor area, ipsilesional thalamus, and contralesio nal cerebellum distinguished all recovered patients from age/sex-match ed controls (N = 12). These results suggest that altered functional in teractions in thalamic circuitry may reflect plastic reorganization as sociated with motor recovery from hemiparesis. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, In c., Inc.