HAND MOTOR CORTICAL AREA REORGANIZATION IN STROKE - A STUDY WITH FMRI, MEG AND TCS MAPS

THE anatomical and functional correlates of the hand sensorimotor area s was investigated in a stroke patient with a malacic lesion in the le ft fronto-parieto-temporal cortex. The patient presented hemiplegia an d motor aphasia 12 months earlier, followed by an excellent motor reco very. Transcranial magnetic stimulation mapping, functional magnetic r esonance and magnetoencephalography were used as methods of functional imaging and all yielded consistent results. In particular, an asymmet rical enlargement and posterior shift of the sensorimotor areas locali zed in the affected hemisphere were found with all three techniques. A spects related to brain 'plasticity' for functional recovery are discu ssed. (C) 1998 Rapid Science Ltd.