A Systematic Review of Investigations into Functional Brain Connectivity Following Spinal Cord Injury

Overview

Journal Front Hum Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2017 Nov 23

PMID 29163098

Citations 24

Authors

Alkinoos Athanasiou

Manousos A Klados

Niki Pandria

Nicolas Foroglou

Kyriaki R Kavazidi

Konstantinos Polyzoidis

Panagiotis D Bamidis

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

: Complete or incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) results in varying degree of motor, sensory and autonomic impairment. Long-lasting, often irreversible disability results from disconnection of efferent and afferent pathways. How does this disconnection affect brain function is not so clear. Changes in brain organization and structure have been associated with SCI and have been extensively studied and reviewed. Yet, our knowledge regarding brain connectivity changes following SCI is overall lacking. : In this study we conduct a systematic review of articles regarding investigations of functional brain networks following SCI, searching on PubMed, Scopus and ScienceDirect according to PRISMA-P 2015 statement standards. : Changes in brain connectivity have been shown even during the early stages of the chronic condition and correlate with the degree of neurological impairment. Connectivity changes appear as dynamic post-injury procedures. Sensorimotor networks of patients and healthy individuals share similar patterns but new functional interactions have been identified as unique to SCI networks. : Large-scale, multi-modal, longitudinal studies on SCI patients are needed to understand how brain network reorganization is established and progresses through the course of the condition. The expected insight holds clinical relevance in preventing maladaptive plasticity after SCI through individualized neurorehabilitation, as well as the design of connectivity-based brain-computer interfaces and assistive technologies for SCI patients.

Citing Articles

Quantitative MRI Assessment of Post-Surgical Spinal Cord Injury Through Radiomic Analysis.

Sharafi A, Klein A, Koch K J Imaging. 2024; 10(12).

PMID: 39728209 PMC: 11678099. DOI: 10.3390/jimaging10120312.

Different macaque brain network remodeling after spinal cord injury and NT3 treatment.

Feng T, Zhao C, Rao J, Guo X, Bao S, He L iScience. 2023; 26(6):106784.

PMID: 37378337 PMC: 10291247. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106784.

Development and Use of Assistive Technologies in Spinal Cord Injury: A Narrative Review of Reviews on the Evolution, Opportunities, and Bottlenecks of Their Integration in the Health Domain.

Morone G, Pirrera A, Iannone A, Giansanti D Healthcare (Basel). 2023; 11(11).

PMID: 37297786 PMC: 10252185. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11111646.

Identifying Body Awareness-Related Brain Network Changes After Cognitive Multisensory Rehabilitation for Neuropathic Pain Relief in Adults With Spinal Cord Injury: Protocol of a Phase I Randomized Controlled Trial.

Van de Winckel A, Carpentier S, Deng W, Bottale S, Hendrickson T, Zhang L Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehabil. 2022; 28(4):33-43.

PMID: 36457363 PMC: 9678218. DOI: 10.46292/sci22-00006.

Altered functional connectivity between primary motor cortex subregions and the whole brain in patients with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury.

Wang L, Zheng W, Yang B, Chen Q, Li X, Chen X Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:996325.

PMID: 36408378 PMC: 9669417. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.996325.

References

Radulescu A, Hannon E . Applying fMRI complexity analyses to the single subject: a case study for proposed neurodiagnostics. Neurocase. 2017; 23(2):120-137. DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2017.1316410. View

Freund P, Weiskopf N, Ashburner J, Wolf K, Sutter R, Altmann D . MRI investigation of the sensorimotor cortex and the corticospinal tract after acute spinal cord injury: a prospective longitudinal study. Lancet Neurol. 2013; 12(9):873-881. PMC: 3744750. DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70146-7. View

Min Y, Chang Y, Park J, Lee J, Cha J, Yang J . Change of Brain Functional Connectivity in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury: Graph Theory Based Approach. Ann Rehabil Med. 2015; 39(3):374-83. PMC: 4496508. DOI: 10.5535/arm.2015.39.3.374. View

Fallani F, Astolfi L, Cincotti F, Mattia D, Marciani M, Salinari S . Cortical functional connectivity networks in normal and spinal cord injured patients: Evaluation by graph analysis. Hum Brain Mapp. 2007; 28(12):1334-46. PMC: 6871447. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20353. View

Nardone R, Holler Y, Brigo F, Seidl M, Christova M, Bergmann J . Functional brain reorganization after spinal cord injury: systematic review of animal and human studies. Brain Res. 2013; 1504:58-73. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.12.034. View

Fallani F, Rodrigues F, da Fontoura Costa L, Astolfi L, Cincotti F, Mattia D . Multiple pathways analysis of brain functional networks from EEG signals: an application to real data. Brain Topogr. 2010; 23(4):344-54. DOI: 10.1007/s10548-010-0152-z. View

Athanasiou A, Klados M, Styliadis C, Foroglou N, Polyzoidis K, Bamidis P . Investigating the Role of Alpha and Beta Rhythms in Functional Motor Networks. Neuroscience. 2016; 378:54-70. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.05.044. View

Pazzaglia M, Molinari M . The embodiment of assistive devices-from wheelchair to exoskeleton. Phys Life Rev. 2015; 16:163-75. DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2015.11.006. View

Hou J, Xiang Z, Yan R, Zhao M, Wu Y, Zhong J . Motor recovery at 6 months after admission is related to structural and functional reorganization of the spine and brain in patients with spinal cord injury. Hum Brain Mapp. 2016; 37(6):2195-209. PMC: 6867385. DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23163. View

10.

Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, Ghersi D, Liberati A, Petticrew M . Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev. 2015; 4:1. PMC: 4320440. DOI: 10.1186/2046-4053-4-1. View

11.

Hou J, Sun T, Xiang Z, Zhang J, Zhang Z, Zhao M . Alterations of resting-state regional and network-level neural function after acute spinal cord injury. Neuroscience. 2014; 277:446-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.07.045. View

12.

Tidoni E, Tieri G, Aglioti S . Re-establishing the disrupted sensorimotor loop in deafferented and deefferented people: The case of spinal cord injuries. Neuropsychologia. 2015; 79(Pt B):301-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.06.029. View

13.

Anderson K, Acuff M, Arp B, Backus D, Chun S, Fisher K . United States (US) multi-center study to assess the validity and reliability of the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III). Spinal Cord. 2011; 49(8):880-5. DOI: 10.1038/sc.2011.20. View

14.

Zhu L, Wu G, Zhou X, Li J, Wen Z, Lin F . Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with acute spinal cord injury revealed by resting-state functional MRI. PLoS One. 2015; 10(3):e0118816. PMC: 4359126. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118816. View

15.

Zalesky A, Fornito A, Bullmore E . Network-based statistic: identifying differences in brain networks. Neuroimage. 2010; 53(4):1197-207. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.06.041. View

16.

Meyer B, Roricht S, Woiciechowsky C . Topography of fibers in the human corpus callosum mediating interhemispheric inhibition between the motor cortices. Ann Neurol. 1998; 43(3):360-9. DOI: 10.1002/ana.410430314. View

17.

Fallani F, Astolfi L, Cincotti F, Mattia D, Tocci A, Marciani M . Extracting information from cortical connectivity patterns estimated from high resolution EEG recordings: a theoretical graph approach. Brain Topogr. 2007; 19(3):125-36. DOI: 10.1007/s10548-007-0019-0. View

18.

Kaushal M, Oni-Orisan A, Chen G, Li W, Leschke J, Ward D . Large-Scale Network Analysis of Whole-Brain Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Spinal Cord Injury: A Comparative Study. Brain Connect. 2017; 7(7):413-423. DOI: 10.1089/brain.2016.0468. View

19.

Nardone R, Holler Y, Brigo F, Orioli A, Tezzon F, Schwenker K . Descending motor pathways and cortical physiology after spinal cord injury assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation: a systematic review. Brain Res. 2014; 1619:139-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.09.036. View

20.

Hou J, Yan R, Xiang Z, Zhang H, Liu J, Wu Y . Brain sensorimotor system atrophy during the early stage of spinal cord injury in humans. Neuroscience. 2014; 266:208-15. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.02.013. View