Article

For the past decade, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been used in elucidation
of the motor recovery mechanisms in stroke patients. In the current study, I
reviewed the DTI studies with regard to the motor recovery mechanisms in stroke
patients, according to the following classification of motor recovery mechanisms;
recovery of a damaged lateral corticospinal tract (CST), subcortical
peri-lesional reorganization, ipsilateral motor pathway from the unaffected motor
cortex to the affected extremities, and other motor recovery mechanisms. In
addition, I discussed the characteristics of DTI as an evaluation tool for motor
recovery mechanisms and future direction. DTI has a unique advantage in
identification and estimation of neural tracts at the subcortical level.
Therefore, it could contribute much to research on the motor recovery mechanisms
of stroke patients, especially, in terms of recovery of a damaged CST and
subcortical peri-lesional reorganization. In spite of the advantages of DTI,
fewer DTI studies on this topic have been conducted compared to studies using
transcranial magnetic stimulation or functional MRI. Therefore, the total number
of DTI studies on this topic should be increased.
Moreover, further studies on
various topics related to brain plasticity of motor function, as well as the
motor recovery mechanism itself, should be encouraged; for example, DTI changes
with passage of time, with rehabilitative intervention, or with motor recovery.

Langue : ANGLAIS