Aivojen muovautuvuus ja aivoinfarktista toipuminen

Brain plasticity and stroke recovery Recovery from stroke is based on the capability of the brain to reorganize its structure and function after lesion. An acute stroke triggers a cascade of time-dependent metabolic and physiological reactions, which enable changes in the organization and function of widespread cortical regions. A wide range of studies, using various functional imaging methods, have thrown light on the reorganizational changes after stroke. However, less is known about the temporal evolution of these changes and their correlation to clinical recovery. In this thesis, different aspects of neurophysiological changes related to sensorimotor recovery were studied in 18 patients with first-ever stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory, affecting upper limb motor function. Follow-up recordings of somatosensory evoked fields (SEF) and spontaneous rhythmic brain activity were performed with whole-head MEG within 1 week (T0), 1 month (T1), and 3 months (T2) after stroke with concomitant evaluation of clinical outcome. MEG suits stroke studies especially well, as it is independent from hemodynamic alterations, and the signals are practically unaffected by morbid tissue. The results indicated that the hand representation in the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) in the affected hemisphere (AH) was transiently enlarged at T1 and returned to normal size concomitantly with clinical improvement of hand function (Study I). Study II showed that the activation in the contralateral secondary somatosensory cortex (cSII) was decreased in the AH at T0 and increased during follow-up. The strength of cSII activation paralleled the recovery of hand function during the 3 months follow-up, suggesting that cSII may be an important region in mediating the somatosensory input to the motor cortex. The results in Study III indicated that afferent-input-modulated motor cortex excitability was increased in the AH in the acute phase after stroke and decreased during follow-up in association with recovery of hand function. Study IV showed that the ~10-Hz oscillations were enhanced in the AH at T1 and T2. Moreover, pathological perilesional low-frequency oscillations were detected in 7/16 patients at T0, and the low-frequency oscillations persisted for at least 3 months in 4 patients. These 4 patients had a worse clinical outcome at T2 than the rest of the patients. The results indicate that even small lesions can cause widespread neurophysiological changes in the cortical network. Certain brain regions, such as SII, seem to be specifically important for the recovery of hand function. The results underline the importance of parallel recovery of the somatosensory and motor systems for fluent hand function. The most evident neurophysiological changes were observed within 1 month after stroke in parallel with steepest improvement of clinical recovery, suggesting that the first 4 weeks are critical for functional recovery.Aivojen muovautuvuus ja aivoinfarktista toipuminen Aivoinfarkti on yksi merkittävimmistä pysyvää invaliditeettia aiheuttavista sairauksista länsimaissa. Vaikka aivoinfarktin akuuttihoito on viime vuosina kehittynyt merkittävästi, aktiivinen kuntoutus on edelleen merkittävin potilaan toipumiseen vaikuttava tekijä. Aivoinfarktista kuntoutuminen perustuu aivojen kykyyn muovautua ja sopeutua ympäristön aiheuttamiin muutoksiin. Aiemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että aivovaurion jälkeiset muovautumismuutokset ovat välttämättömiä toipumiselle, mutta edelleen tiedetään varsin vähän siitä, miten muutokset kehittyvät toipumisen myötä ja miten ne korreloivat kuntoutumiseen. Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin magnetoenkefalografian (MEG) avulla, minkälaisia muutoksia akuutti aivoinfarkti aiheuttaa aivojen liike- ja tuntoaivokuorien toiminnassa, ja miten nämä muutokset vaikuttavat potilaan halvausoireista toipumiseen. Erityisesti keskityttiin siihen, miten tuntoaistijärjestelmän vauriot vaikuttavat liikkeen suoritukseen ja mitkä mekanismit vastaavat tunto- ja liikeaivokuorien välisestä tiedonkulusta. Tutkimuksessa seurattiin MEG mittauksin 18 elämänsä ensimmäiseen aivoinfarktiin sairastunutta potilasta, joilla aivoinfarkti aiheutti yläraajan halvausoireen. Potilailta tutkittiin aivojen tuntoherätevasteiden ja rytmisen toiminnan muutoksia viikon sisällä, 1 ja 3 kuukautta sairastumisesta. Kliinistä toipumista seurattiin useilla toimintakykyä mittaavilla testeillä. Tulokset osoittivat, että käden edustusalue sairastuneen aivopuoliskon primaarisella tuntoaivokuorella laajenee ensimmäisen kuukauden aikana. Toipumisen myötä edustusalue palautui normaaliksi 3:n kuukauden seuranta-aikana. Aiemmat eläinkokeet ovat osoittaneet, että edustusalueiden muutokset aivoissa liittyvät ennen kaikkea uuden oppimiseen eikä pelkästään jo osatun taidon toistamiseen. Näin ollen käden edustusalueen laajeneminen saattaa olla yhteydessä motorisen taidon uudelleenoppimiseen ja edustusalueen palautuminen normaaliksi voisi kuvastaa jo opitun taidon ylläpitämistä. Lisäksi tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että aivojen tuntoaivoverkostossa tapahtuu korjaavia muutoksia toipumisen myötä. Tietyt aivoalueet vaikuttivat erityisen tärkeiltä käden motoriselle toipumiselle. Esimerkiksi sekundaarisen tuntoaivokuoren aktivaation voimakkuus kasvoi merkittävästi seurantamittauksissa; ja aktivaation voimakkuus korreloi käden toimintakyvyn paranemiseen. Tulokset osoittivat myös, että tuntoaivokuorelta saapuva palaute vaikuttaa merkittävästi liikeaivokuoren toiminnan palautumiseen vaurion jälkeen. Tulokset alleviivaavat tunto- ja liikeaivoverkoston yhteistoiminnan tärkeyttä käden motorisessa toipumisessa. Suurimmat neurofysiologiset muutokset olivat havaittavissa kuukauden sisällä aivoinfarktiin sairastumisesta, korostaen ensimmäisten 4:n viikon tärkeyttä kuntoutuksessa

Recovery of the 20Hz Rebound to Tactile and Proprioceptive Stimulation after Stroke

Sensorimotor integration is closely linked to changes in motor-cortical excitability, observable in the modulation of the 20 Hz rhythm. After somatosensory stimulation, the rhythm transiently increases as a rebound that reflects motor-cortex inhibition. Stroke-induced alterations in afferent input likely affect motor-cortex excitability and motor recovery. To study the role of somatosensory afferents in motor-cortex excitability after stroke, we employed magnetoencephalographic recordings (MEG) at 1-7 days, one month, and 12 months in 23 patients with stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory and 22 healthy controls. The modulation of the 20 Hz motor-cortical rhythm was evaluated to two different somatosensory stimuli, tactile stimulation, and passive movement of the index fingers. The rebound strengths to both stimuli were diminished in the acute phase compared to the controls and increased significantly during the first month after stroke. However, only the rebound amplitudes to tactile stimuli fully recovered within the follow-up period. The rebound strengths in the affected hemisphere to both stimuli correlated strongly with the clinical scores across the follow-up. The results show that changes in the 20 Hz rebound to both stimuli behave similarly and occur predominantly during the first month. The 20 Hz rebound is a potential marker for predicting motor recovery after stroke.Peer reviewe

Reproducibility of corticokinematic coherence

Corticokinematic coherence (CKC) between limb kinematics and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals reflects cortical processing of proprioceptive afference. However, it is unclear whether strength of CKC is reproducible across measurement sessions. We thus examined reproducibility of CKC in a follow-up study. Thirteen healthy right-handed volunteers (7 females, 21.7 +/- 4.3 yrs) were measured using MEG in two separate sessions 12.6 +/- 1.3 months apart. The participant was seated and relaxed while his/her dominant or non-dominant index finger was continuously moved at 3 Hz (4 min for each hand) using a pneumatic movement actuator. Finger kinematics were recorded with a 3-axis accelerometer. Coherence was computed between finger acceleration and MEG signals. CKC strength was defined as the peak coherence value at 3 Hz form a single sensor among 40 pre-selected Rolandic gradiometers contralateral to the movement. Pneumatic movement actuator provided stable proprioceptive stimuli and significant CKC responses peaking at the contralateral Rolandic sensors. In the group level, CKC strength did not differ between the sessions in dominant (Day-1 0.40 +/- 0.19 vs. Day-2 0.41 +/- 0.17) or non-dominant (0.35 +/- 0.16 vs. 0.36 +/- 0.17) hand, nor between the hands. Intraclass-correlation coefficient (ICC) values indicated excellent inter-session reproducibility for CKC strength for both dominant (0.86) and non-dominant (0.97) hand. However, some participants showed pronounced inter-session variability in CKC strength, but only for the dominant hand. CKC is a promising tool to study proprioception in long-term longitudinal studies in the group level to follow, e.g., integrity of cortical proprioceptive processing with motor functions after stroke.Peer reviewe

Reproducibility of corticokinematic coherence

Corticokinematic coherence (CKC) between limb kinematics and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals reflects cortical processing of proprioceptive afference. However, it is unclear whether strength of CKC is reproducible across measurement sessions. We thus examined reproducibility of CKC in a follow-up study. Thirteen healthy right-handed volunteers (7 females, 21.7 +/- 4.3 yrs) were measured using MEG in two separate sessions 12.6 +/- 1.3 months apart. The participant was seated and relaxed while his/her dominant or non-dominant index finger was continuously moved at 3 Hz (4 min for each hand) using a pneumatic movement actuator. Finger kinematics were recorded with a 3-axis accelerometer. Coherence was computed between finger acceleration and MEG signals. CKC strength was defined as the peak coherence value at 3 Hz form a single sensor among 40 pre-selected Rolandic gradiometers contralateral to the movement. Pneumatic movement actuator provided stable proprioceptive stimuli and significant CKC responses peaking at the contralateral Rolandic sensors. In the group level, CKC strength did not differ between the sessions in dominant (Day-1 0.40 +/- 0.19 vs. Day-2 0.41 +/- 0.17) or non-dominant (0.35 +/- 0.16 vs. 0.36 +/- 0.17) hand, nor between the hands. Intraclass-correlation coefficient (ICC) values indicated excellent inter-session reproducibility for CKC strength for both dominant (0.86) and non-dominant (0.97) hand. However, some participants showed pronounced inter-session variability in CKC strength, but only for the dominant hand. CKC is a promising tool to study proprioception in long-term longitudinal studies in the group level to follow, e.g., integrity of cortical proprioceptive processing with motor functions after stroke.Peer reviewe

Modulation of the similar to 20-Hz motor-cortex rhythm to passive movement and tactile stimulation

Background: Integration of afferent somatosensory input with motor-cortex output is essential for accurate movements. Prior studies have shown that tactile input modulates motor-cortex excitability, which is reflected in the reactivity of the similar to 20-Hz motor-cortex rhythm. similar to 20-Hz rebound is connected to inhibition or deactivation of motor cortex whereas suppression has been associated with increased motor cortex activity. Although tactile sense carries important information for controlling voluntary actions, proprioception likely provides the most essential feedback for motor control. Methods: To clarify how passive movement modulates motor-cortex excitability, we studied with magnetoencephalography (MEG) the amplitudes and peak latencies of suppression and rebound of the similar to 20-Hz rhythm elicited by tactile stimulation and passive movement of right and left index fingers in 22 healthy volunteers. Results: Passive movement elicited a stronger and more robust similar to 20-Hz rebound than tactile stimulation. In contrast, the suppression amplitudes did not differ between the two stimulus types. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that suppression and rebound represent activity of two functionally distinct neuronal populations. The similar to 20-Hz rebound to passive movement could be a suitable tool to study the functional state of the motor cortex both in healthy subjects and in patients with motor disorders.Peer reviewe

Comparing MEG and EEG in detecting the ∼20-Hz rhythm modulation to tactile and proprioceptive stimulation

Modulation of the ∼20-Hz brain rhythm has been used to evaluate the functional state of the sensorimotor cortex both in healthy subjects and patients, such as stroke patients. The ∼20-Hz brain rhythm can be detected by both magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG), but the comparability of these methods has not been evaluated. Here, we compare these two methods in the evaluating of ∼20-Hz activity modulation to somatosensory stimuli. Rhythmic ∼20-Hz activity during separate tactile and proprioceptive stimulation of the right and left index finger was recorded simultaneously with MEG and EEG in twenty-four healthy participants. Both tactile and proprioceptive stimulus produced a clear suppression at 300–350 ms followed by a subsequent rebound at 700–900 ms after stimulus onset, detected at similar latencies both with MEG and EEG. The relative amplitudes of suppression and rebound correlated strongly between MEG and EEG recordings. However, the relative strength of suppression and rebound in the contralateral hemisphere (with respect to the stimulated hand) was significantly stronger in MEG than in EEG recordings. Our results indicate that MEG recordings produced signals with higher signal-to-noise ratio than EEG, favoring MEG as an optimal tool for studies evaluating sensorimotor cortical functions. However, the strong correlation between MEG and EEG results encourages the use of EEG when translating studies to clinical practice. The clear advantage of EEG is the availability of the method in hospitals and bed-side measurements at the acute phase.Peer reviewe

Cortical Excitability Measured with nTMS and MEG during Stroke Recovery

Objective. Stroke alters cortical excitability both in the lesioned and in the nonlesioned hemisphere. Stroke recovery has been studied using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Spontaneous brain oscillations and somatosensory evoked fields (SEFs) measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG) are modified in stroke patients during recovery. Methods. We recorded SEFs and spontaneous MEG activity and motor threshold (MT) short intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) with navigated TMS (nTMS) at one and three months after first-ever hemispheric ischemic strokes. Changes of MEG and nTMS parameters attributed to gamma-aminobutyrate and glutamate transmission were compared. Results. ICF correlated with the strength and extent of SEF source areas depicted by MEG at three months. The nTMS MT and event-related desynchronization (ERD) of beta-band MEG activity and SICI and the beta-band MEG event-related synchronization (ERS) were correlated, but less strongly. Conclusions. This first report using sequential nTMS and MEG in stroke recovery found intra-and interhemispheric correlations of nTMS and MEG estimates of cortical excitability. ICF and SEF parameters, MT and the ERD of the lesioned hemisphere, and SICI and ERS of the nonlesioned hemisphere were correlated. Covarying excitability in the lesioned and nonlesioned hemispheres emphasizes the importance of the hemispheric balance of the excitability of the sensorimotor system.Peer reviewe

Alterations in Spontaneous Brain Oscillations during Stroke Recovery

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Arvostelut

Lea Rojola Minä – kertoja, narri ja hylkiö Sari Salin: Narri kertojana. Kultaisesta aasista suomalaiseen postmodernismiin Katja Seutu Hyryn tiloissa liikkuminen on taito Leena Kaunonen: Jakamattoman avaruuden alla. Tilojen merkityksiä Antti Hyryn proosassa Tarja-Liisa Hypén Tolstoilaisuus ei ole Arvid Järnefeltin ainoa teesi Saija Isomaa: Heräämisten poetiikkaa. Lajeja ja intertekstejä Arvid Järnefeltin romaaneissa Isänmaa, Maaemon lapsia ja Veneh’ojalaiset Kristina Malmio Hyvä kansalainen hallitsee tunteensa Paula Arvas: Rauta ja ristilukki. Vilho Helasen salapoliisiromaanit Jani Vanhala Heideggeria humanisteille Annikki Niku: Heidegger ja runon tie Kaisa Laaksonen Kuvakirjojen moniulotteisia sankareita Anna-Maija Koskimies-Hellman: Inre landskap i text och bild. Dröm, lek och fantasi i svenska och finska bilderböcker Pia Maria Ahlbäck Den (ingalunda) självklara kontexten Michel Ekman & Kristina Malmio (red.): Bloch, butch, Bertel: Kontextuella litteraturstudier Riikka Rossi Kahvi ja ranskalaista kirjallisuutta, kiitos Päivi Kosonen, Hanna Meretoja & Päivi Mäkirinta (toim.): Tarinoiden paluu. Esseitä ranskalaisesta nykykirjallisuudesta Hannu Poutiainen Kalman kosketus ja makaaberi käänne Jari Eilola (toim.): Makaaberi ruumis. Mielikuvia kuolemasta ja kehosta Sami Simola Mimesiksen jäljillä Ari Hirvonen ja Susanna Lindberg (toim.): Mikä mimesis? Philippe Lacoue-Labarthen filosofinen teatter

Inhibitory activity of the isoflavone Biochanin A on intracellular bacteria of genus Chlamydia and initial development of a buccal formulation

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