FNIRS-based evaluation of cortical plasticity in children with cerebral palsy undergoing constraint-induced movement therapy

摘要

Sensorimotor cortex plasticity induced by constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) in six children (10.2 ± 2.1 years old) with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP) was assessed by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The activation laterality index and time-to-peak/duration during a finger tapping task were quantified before, immediately after, and six months after CIMT. Five age-matched healthy children (9.8 ± 1.3 years old) were also imaged at the same time points to provide comparative activation metrics for normal controls. In children with CP the activation time-to-peak/duration for all sensorimotor centers displayed significant normalization immediately after CIMT that persisted six months later, In contrast to this longer term improvement in localized activation response, the laterality index that depended on communication between sensorimotor centers improved immediately after CIMT, but relapsed six months later.