Abstract #0930

Patterns of Cortical Myelination Are Intact in Lower Limb Amputees

Nicholas A. Bock¹, Eyesha Hashim¹, Norman B. Konyer², Sharon Grad³

¹Medical Physics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; ²Imaging Research Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada; ³Physcial Medicine and Rehabilitation, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

We use 3D T1-weighted anatomical MRI at an isotropic resolution of 0.7 mm to see whether the strong myelination that delineates the primary motor and somatosensory cortex in humans is disrupted in amputees in the area representing a lost lower limb. We do not observe any gross differences in the pattern of cortical myelination between hemispheres in amputees, and the amputee cortex appears similar to that of controls. This suggests that either the axons representing the lost limb persist in the amputee cortex, or that new axons have replaced them over time.