Brain changes after spinal cord injury, a quantitative meta-analysis and review. (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Solstrand Dahlberg, Linda; Becerra, Lino; Borsook, David; Linnman, Clas
• Is Part Of: Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews. Volume 90(2018)
• Page Start: 272
• Page End: 293
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: ACC Anterior Cingulate Cortex -- ASIA American Spinal Injury Association -- BOLD Blood Oxygen Level Dependent -- Cho Choline -- Cr Creatine -- DLPFC Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex -- DTI Diffusion Tensor Imaging -- DWI Diffusion Weighted Imaging -- ED Euclidian Distance -- Fa Fractional Anisotropy FDG - 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose -- FDG 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose -- fMRI Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging -- GLM General Linear Model -- Glx Glutamate-glutamine -- HC Healthy Control -- Ins Myo-inositol -- IPL Inferior Parietal Lobe -- ISCIP International Spinal Cord Injury Pain -- MNI Montreal Neurological Institute -- MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging -- MRS Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy -- Naa N-acetylaspartate -- PET Positron Emission Tomography -- PFC Prefrontal Cortex -- PMC Premotor Cortex -- rCBF regional Cerebral Blood Flow -- ReHo Regional Homogeneity -- ROI Region of Interest -- RSFC Resting State Functional Connectivity -- RSFMRI Resting State Fmri -- SCI Spinal Cord Injury -- SDM Signed Differential Mapping -- SMA Supplementary Motor Area -- SPECT Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography -- tDCS Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation -- VBM Voxel-based Morphometry; Spinal cord injury -- Neuroimaging -- Meta-analysis -- Plasticity -- Cortical reorganization -- MRI; Psychophysiology -- Periodicals; Human behavior -- Periodicals; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Behavior -- Periodicals; Ethology -- Periodicals; Neurology -- Periodicals; Psychophysiologie -- Périodiques; Comportement humain -- Périodiques; Animaux -- Mœurs et comportement -- Périodiques; Neurologie -- Périodiques; Animal behavior; Human behavior; Neurology; Psychophysiology; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 573.8
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.04.018
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-7634

Abstract

Highlights: There was sufficient homogeneity for meta-analysis of fMRI motor and motor imagery tasks. Results indicate consistently elevated motor, parietal and cerebellar responses in SCI. Studies report structural and functional alterations with diffusion and metabolite changes. Findings suggest adaptive plasticity following injury can be affected by pain. Standardized protocols should be emphasized to minimize heterogeneity in studies. Abstract: Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) lead to alterations in brain structure and brain function by direct effects of nerve damage, by secondary mechanisms, and also by longer term injury consequences such as paralysis and neuropathic pain. Here, we review neuroimaging studies of patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries, perform a quantitative meta-analysis of motor and motor imagery studies, summarize structural studies, evidence of cortical reorganization, and provide an overview of diffusion and spectroscopy studies. The meta-analysis showed significantly altered motor cortex, as well as cerebellar and parietal lobe changes, and qualitatively consistent reports of alterations in somatosensory brain structure, cortical reorganization, white matter diffusion and thalamic metabolites. Larger samples in combination with standardized imaging protocols and data sharing will further our understanding of brain changes after SCI and help in defining short and long-term changes in brain systems in SCI patients. Such data would provide a basis for clinical trials, treatment outcomes, and guide novel interventions.