Functional reorganisation and recovery following cortical lesions: A preliminary study in macaque monkeys.

Ainsworth M., Browncross H., Mitchell DJ., Mitchell AS., Passingham RE., Buckley MJ., Duncan J., Bell AH.

Damage following traumatic brain injury or stroke can often extend beyond the boundaries of the initial insult and can lead to maladaptive cortical reorganisation. On the other hand, beneficial cortical reorganisation leading to recovery of function can also occur. We used resting state FMRI to investigate how cortical networks in the macaque brain change across time in response to lesions to the prefrontal cortex, and how this reorganisation correlated with changes in behavioural performance in cognitive tasks. After prelesion testing and scanning, two monkeys received a lesion to regions surrounding the left principal sulcus followed by periodic testing and scanning. Later, the animals received another lesion to the opposite hemisphere and additional testing and scanning. Following the first lesion, we observed both a behavioural impairment and decrease in functional connectivity, predominantly in frontal-frontal networks. Approximately 8 weeks later, performance and connectivity patterns both improved. Following the second lesion, we observed a further behavioural deficit and decrease in connectivity that showed little recovery. We discuss how different mechanisms including alternate behavioural strategies and reorganisation of specific prefrontal networks may have led to improvements in behaviour. Further work will be needed to confirm these mechanisms.

DOI

10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.08.024

Type

Journal article

Journal

Neuropsychologia

Publication Date

10/2018

Volume

119

Pages

382 - 391

Keywords

FMRI, Neuropsychology, Plasticity, Prefrontal cortex, Recovery of function, Resting state covariance, Animals, Brain Mapping, Hand, Longitudinal Studies, Macaca mulatta, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Memory, Motor Activity, Neural Pathways, Neuronal Plasticity, Prefrontal Cortex, Preliminary Data, Recovery of Function, Rest, Space Perception, Visual Perception

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