Specific Brain Reorganization Underlying Superior Upper Limb Motor Function After Spinal Cord Injury: A Multimodal MRI Study

Abstract

Background: We recently discovered that individuals with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) have a higher grip force control ability in their intact upper limbs than able-bodied subjects. However, the neural basis for this phenomenon is unknown. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the neural basis of the higher grip force control in the brains of individuals with SCI using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Eight SCI subjects and 10 able-bodied subjects performed hand grip force control tasks at 10%, 20%, and 30% of their maximal voluntary contraction during functional MRI (fMRI). Resting-state fMRI and T1-weighted structural images were obtained to investigate changes in brain networks and structures after SCI. Results: SCI subjects showed higher grip force steadiness than able-bodied subjects (P