Cortical Reorganization following Injury Early in Life

• Published in: Journal of neural transplantation & plasticity Vol. 2016; no. 2016; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Green, Dido, Ben Bashat, Dafna, Gordon, Andrew M., Fattal-Valevski, Aviva, Schertz, Mitchell, Tarrasch, Ricardo, Myers, Vicki, Weinstein, Maya, Shiran, Shelly I., Artzi, Moran, Miller, Elka
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2016; Hindawi Limited; Wiley
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age; Age Factors; brain cortex; brain cortex lesion; brain function; Brain Injuries; Brain Injuries - complications; Brain Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Brain Injuries - physiopathology; brain injury; brain perfusion; brain size; brain tissue; Cerebral Cortex; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Cerebral palsy; cerebrospinal fluid; Child; clinical article; Comparative analysis; complication; cortical thickness (brain); diagnostic imaging; Female; gray matter; hemiplegia; Hemiplegia - diagnostic imaging; Hemiplegia - etiology; Hemiplegia - physiopathology; human; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - trends; Male; morphology; neuroimaging; Neurons; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; organ size; Organ Size - physiology; Paralysis; pathophysiology; perinatal period; physiology; Traumatic brain injury; trends; white matter
• ISSN: 2090-5904; 0792-8483; 1687-5443; 1687-5443
• DOI: 10.1155/2016/8615872

The brain has a remarkable capacity for reorganization following injury, especially during the first years of life. Knowledge of structural reorganization and its consequences following perinatal injury is sparse. Here we studied changes in brain tissue volume, morphology, perfusion, and integrity in children with hemiplegia compared to typically developing children, using MRI. Children with hemiplegia demonstrated reduced total cerebral volume, with increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and reduced total white matter volumes, with no differences in total gray matter volume, compared to typically developing children. An increase in cortical thickness at the hemisphere contralateral to the lesion (CLH) was detected in motor and language areas, which may reflect compensation for the gray matter loss in the lesion area or retention of ipsilateral pathways. In addition, reduced cortical thickness, perfusion, and surface area were detected in limbic areas. Increased CSF volume and precentral cortical thickness and reduced white matter volume were correlated with worse motor performance. Brain reorganization of the gray matter within the CLH, while not necessarily indicating better outcome, is suggested as a response to neuronal deficits following injury early in life.