Maurits P.A.
van Meer1,2, Wim M. Otte1,3, Kajo van der Marel1,
Jan W. Berkelbach van der Sprenkel2, Rick M. Dijkhuizen1
1Biomedical MR Imaging and Spectroscopy
group, Image Sciences Institute, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Department
of Neurosurgery, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht,
Netherlands; 3Department of Neurology, Rudolf Magnus Institute of
Neuroscience, Utrecht, Netherlands
Reorganization
of neuronal networks may effectively constitute spontaneous functional
recovery after stroke. However, the association between structural and
functional remodelling in post-stroke brain remains unclear. In this study we
combined resting-state fMRI with manganese-enhanced MRI to elucidate the
relationship between functional and structural brain connectivity in
presumably reorganized contralesional brain tissue in rats that have
recovered from experimental unilateral stroke. We detected increased uptake
of the neuroanatomical tracer manganese in the contralesional sensorimotor
cortex that was significantly correlated with enhanced functional
connectivity within this region. Our data suggest that improved
neuroanatomical connectivity underlies enhancement of functional connectivity
in reorganizing neuronal networks after stroke.