Brain Preserves Ability To "Feel" And "Move" After Spinal Cord Injury In One Quadriplegic

"The fact that there is stability in the brain despite a lack of input from the body is very good news," says Maurizio Corbetta, M.D., head of stroke and brain injury rehabilitation. "However, longer studies with more patients will have to be conducted to learn more about what this means for recovery after spinal cord injury."

Corbetta, who also is associate professor of neurology, of radiology and of anatomy and neurobiology, led the study along with Harold Burton, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology, of cell biology and physiology and of radiology. The findings are scheduled to appear online the second week in December and in the Dec. 24 print issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists have known for several years that a strip of the brain located roughly halfway between the front and back of the head becomes active during movement. Different areas along this strip become active when an individual moves different parts of his or her body. Some studies suggest that following amputation or blindness, the brain reorganizes so that areas no longer being used for one task – like vision – become rededicated to another task.

This study suggests, however, that severe spinal cord injury does not necessarily lead to extensive reorganization.

The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare patterns of brain activity in one quadriplegic versus one healthy participant. The injured individual first was tested in 2000, shortly after he began to recover minimal movement, and again four more times over the following two years. His delayed recovery is detailed in the September 2002 issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.

In the current study, brain images first were taken to measure participants' response to touch. A massage vibrator was applied either to the left hand or the left foot.

The second task tested brain activity during movement. Participants followed the image of a tennis ball with either their tongue or their left index finger. For example, as the ball moved up, participants moved their finger up; when the ball moved toward the left, participants moved their tongue to the left.

Brain activity during movement in the healthy individual was normal. Remarkably, patterns of brain activity in the individual with spinal cord injury also were normal, though slightly stronger and more widespread than in the healthy participant.

"Even though this individual had not been able to move for five years, motor patterns in the brain were relatively normal," says Burton. "That's very encouraging, because it means that this part of the brain doesn't disappear or lose its ability to function properly. The key might be that, though this individual's injury was extremely severe, a small port