Abstract #1064

Impact of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) level on Cortical Reorganization

Lukman E. Ismaila^1,2, Farzad V. Farahani³, Cristina L. Sadowsky^4,5, Haris I. Sair^1,6, James J. Pekar^1,2, and Ann S. Choe^1,2

¹Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ²F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁴International Center for Spinal Cord Injury, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁵Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ⁶The Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States

Synopsis

Keywords: Spinal Cord, Brain Connectivity, Spinal Cord, Graph Theory

Motivation: We aimed to fill the knowledge gap regarding the impact of spinal cord injury (SCI) level on cortical reorganization.

Goal(s): We sought to investigate cortical reorganization patterns in chronic SCI patients, specifically differentiating between cervical and thoracic injuries.

Approach: Employing graph theory analysis of functional connectivity, we analyzed data from 32 chronic SCI patients and 32 healthy controls.

Results: Significant alterations in somatomotor and visual networks in SCI cohort was observed. Notably, those with thoracic injuries exhibited more pronounced functional segregation within the somatomotor network, dividing it into dorsolateral and paramedian SMN regions and a ventrolateral SMN region.

Impact: Our findings on the influence of SCI level on brain reorganization may impact clinicians, researchers, and rehabilitation specialists, guiding tailored interventions and raising new questions about optimizing SCI recovery.

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