Structural integrity of the corticospinal tract correlates with motor behavior in adolescents with unilateral Cerebral Palsy. An fMRI informed probabilistic tractography study
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2015-07-01
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en
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Abstract
In patients with unilateral Cerebral Palsy (uCP), the Corticospinal Tract (CST) is one of
the main tracts affected. It is not clear, however, if the structural integrity of the CST correlates
with motor behavior deficits in adolescents with uCP. In this study, we measured a group of uCP
adolescents (n=10) with an fMRI motor task, DTI and T1, as well as several behavioral measures
and questionnaires (CHEQ, Box and Blocks, Reaction Times to cued target task). Since the
primary motor cortex (M1) is commonly displaced in uCP adolescents, the fMRI was used for
localizing the M1. We then employed probabilistic tractography to determine the anatomy of the
CST. Structural integrity differences between affected and non-affected CST were detected;
furthermore, evidence of two distinct diffusivity patterns emerged in the affected CST, close and
distal to lesion. Increased radial diffusivity of the affected CST correlated with decreased gross
manual dexterity, implying a relation between increased demyelination and decreased dexterity
in the affected hand. This study may pave the way towards the development of a biomarker
based on CST for patients with uCP.
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen