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(Stroke. 2005;36:1474.)
© 2005 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contribution

Reorganization of Motor Execution Rather Than Preparation in Poststroke Hemiparesis

Holger Wiese, PhD; Philipp Stude; Robert Sarge; Katharina Nebel, MSc; Hans-Christoph Diener, MD Matthias Keidel, MD

From the Department of Neurology (H.W., P.S., R.S., K.N., H.-C.D.), University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany; and Department of Neurology (M.K.), District Hospital of Bayreuth, Germany.

Correspondence to Dr.rer.nat. Holger Wiese, Department of Neurology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45122 Essen, Germany. E-mail holger.wiese{at}uni-essen.de

Background and Purpose— The aim of the present study was to examine movement-related potentials (MRPs) in patients in the "chronic" stage after cortical stroke with recovered hemiparesis compared with healthy control subjects.

Methods— Right index finger MRPs were derived from 12 patients 1 year after infarction in the territory of the left middle cerebral artery as well as from 12 control subjects. MRP components were compared between groups.

Results— In the patient group, the component directly preceding movement onset (negative slope [NS]) was significantly reduced over the lesioned hemisphere contralateral to the movement. Furthermore, increased motor potentials (MPs) were observed over the contralesional hemisphere during movement execution. No changes in the early MRP (Bereitschaftspotential) reflecting movement preparation were found.

Conclusions— Because the NS is supposed to be generated by the primary motor cortex, the decreased component over the lesioned hemisphere is interpreted to represent impaired contralateral M1 functioning in stroke patients. Contralesional activity has been reported as a probable sign of brain plasticity by functional imaging studies. Our results broaden these findings, giving new insights into the temporal course of movement-related brain activity in recovered cortical stroke patients. The data point to a functional reorganization of motor execution rather than preparation in poststroke hemiparesis.

Key Words: electroencephalography • evoked potentials • paresis • recovery of function • stroke

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