Motor representations in the intact hemisphere of the rat are reduced after repetitive training of the impaired forelimb

摘要

BackgroundDuring recovery from a unilateral cortical stroke, spared cortical motor areas in the contralateral (intact) cerebral cortex are recruited. Pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that compensation with the less-impaired limb may have a detrimental inhibitory effect on the intact cortical hemisphere and could impede recovery of the more-impaired limb. However, evidence from detailed neurophysiological mapping studies in animal models is lacking.